Thor's Running Journal

Qualify to have guaranteed entry into the Chicago Marathon Run a marathon in 3 hours 15 minutes In the spring these goals were the same just worded differently. Now, they are different and the semantics matter.  Sometime in July the Chicago Marathon organizers dropped the guaranteed entry time for my age group by 5 full minutes after a drop of 10 minutes the year before and I missed the memo. When I finished my previous marathon in October and even my Half-marathon in the spring earlier this year, it felt like 3hrs and 15mins was very much on the horizon, which in turn would put me into Chicago. But now there is a shifting and unsettling of the goals.  The goal posts moved. Now I need to run a 3:10:00 to reach my Chicago goal. Running 3:15:00 would undoubtedly be an amazing feat, but doesn't advance me to the running experiences I expected. Can I run a 3:10 marathon now? I've been through this argument before as recently as 2 weeks ago .  My training so far says it's pl...

Feeling even better today. Maybe try some light running tomorrow. I know my strategy should be "Feel better and then wait" but biking is such a drag to me compared to running. I'm a lot less worried now than earlier in the week about fitness loss. I mean if I needed to run the marathon next week I likely could pull it together and make it happen. Given that I have 4 weeks to play with Iam even more confident I can at least be competative. I am shying away from a 3:10 attempt, but 3:15 still seems very much with in reach. That would be in line with my big goal. Clearly nothing is garenteed, but if I can get into Chicago, I can use that to make BQ attempt. That was the orginal plan and if the times hadn't changed last year I stood a chance.   ... hot take.  I jsut found out chicago qualifing time for my age group dropped another 5 full minutes. What in the world. When did that happen?! Sheesh. The goal post is moving away faster than i can catch it.  ugh.  Well I ...

I really want to get back to running. Riding in the morning hours may feel more pleasant if it weren't  chilly out, but honestly it is sort of like drinking that pink solution when I was sick as a kid. Necessary and tolerable, but not pleasant. I have to pay attention so much more when ridding even if there are only 3 cars on the road. You never know when a pot hole is going to pop up. Biking in the early morning requires more parts too....blinky light vest, blinky rear lights, headlamp gloves, helmet, the bike. Running seems simpler. Still things, but I'm use to the things.  Anyway the leg feels better, but I can still tell it's off which means at least a few more days. Maybe I'll see where things are at Sunday because I'll be off for the next three days after that for a conference where I'd like to get a few miles in.  I looked back at my fiasco earlier this year and noted that i still ran a 1:33 Half marathon after all the ups and downs of the last 5 weeks o...

I wish it were warmer out at 3 in the morning.  I went for a bikeride this morning. Not because I like being on the bike, but because is awake and my routine is still precious. The other nice thing is that there is hardly any traffic at that hour. I have my blinky lights on and just ride out into the country.  I'll do it again tomorrow if I wake up early.  I think my leg is feeling better, but I'm not going to pay attention to trying to run for a few more days. I could walk on it pretty comfortably. But there's still time and I am going to wait. 

 It rained pretty much all night. Tuesdays are rest days anyway so there's nothing lost by not getting out and running this morning. At least I'm able to walk a little bit better today than I could yesterday. Still enough discomfort to be mindful. But a little bit of a rosier Outlook then I had when things went down on Sunday afternoon. I'll still be taking it one day at a time. Bike tomorrow. 

 Going up and down stairs and walking came with a good deal of discomfort today, which made sitting at a desk working on a computer a pretty ideal job. I did have some cool visitors at work today, but a tour through the museum by its very nature is slow.  I'm in better spirits today than yesterday, but incredibly restless. I woke at 4 am, but not enough to do anything about it. I waited until the early evening for a bike ride, which is my least favorite time of day because there is so much traffic. The corn through the country roads is drying out and a bit of breeze made it crinkle.  By the end of the day I felt less awkward when walking and the mental tricks started. I know I need to stave off getting going too quickly. I don't think I practiced patience enough the last time around. Feel better and then wait is an easy strategy to say out loud, but much more difficult to do. Based on notes from last time I had this happen I pushed  harder than I should have and it w...