Marathon Training Troubles

I’m ashamed that I have let so many days go by between posts.  I have been completely immersed in training for the Houston Marathon. But as now it looks like I may have some free time on my hands.

It’s been years since I have laid it all on the table and trained this hard.  I had set a pretty aggressive goal for this year’s race and have been putting in some serious time and effort.  If you set a big goal, and work really hard to attain that goal, you know how consuming it can become.  And you also know how disappointing it can be when it falls apart.

To make a long story short a recent knee injury derailed my training and has forced me to withdraw from the event.

When these things happen they can be surprisingly depressing.  For most of us running is a huge part of who we are and not having that for a while does some strange things to psyche.  I have spent some time pouting, but I have tried very hard to focus on the positive aspects of being down for a while.

Most running injuries are temporary.  I am fortunate that I have the ability to run regularly, and even more grateful that I have a hobby that I truly enjoy and one that keeps me in shape.

I will also have some time now to get caught up with this blog.  I have missed it and the interaction with the fitness community it brings.  It’s amazing how much time 40 miles a week can take when you factor in icing, rolling, stretching, and the countless other things that parallel the running.

There are two big fears so many runners have when forced to take time off.   Gaining weight and losing ground on speed and endurance.  The second is unavoidable when taking time off.  The first doesn’t happen nearly as easy as most runners think; but with the down time I have started eating paleo again and have actually lost weight.

So for the first time in 9 years of marathons I am not going to make a race I have registered for.  But I look forward to the time off and sincerely hope to get caught up on catching up.