Week 4: When is the best time to Run?

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Heart and Mind are Hemming and Hawing

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I am in a constant state of framing and reframing just what my next move is for this weekend. Strikes against the marathon: 1. Diminished fitness  2. Calf niggles continue 3. Facial fractures 4. Poor practice with nutrition And yet it's tough to to leave it on the line at this point.  The race organizers say I can downgrade (perhaps "modify my registration" or "Transfer" are gentler words) to the half marathon until the close of the expose (Saturday afternoon) So if i scratch the marathon what do I have left.  A 3 month masters class in endurance to draw from sometime down the road? A plaque that says, "love the process?" I'm not at the point of resignation yet, but I'm getting there with some reflection. Perhaps I rushed signing up for a marathon when a half-marathon would have be suffient with aims as Chicago in 2026 and the Boston in 2027. Its interesting how on track I was 4 weeks ago and how quickly things unraveled.  Alright so I run the ...
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I smashed my face in a bike accident

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Well it finally happened. After all the miles on my feet it turned out that the bike would be the culprit that sent me to the emergency department. Just when I was starting to try and heal from my calf strain and keep my fitness up by riding my bike. I guess they don't call it endurance for nothing. On my way back home riding through the neighborhood faster than I should have I wasn't paying close enough attention to the parked car that took me out. It all happened so fast that I can't really say exactly what happened other than knowing that I landed flat on the curb with my face ( Yes, I did have a helmet on and pretty sure it saved the rest of my skull).   The homeowner came out of the home pretty upset that some blinking guy in the street was by her car “what the __ are you doing?” she yelled from her front stoop because it was 4:30am and dark. When she approached, I politely explained in my pain that I had hit her car. Her tone changed immediately the minute she put two...
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All the feels

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There is a little incline at mile 3 of the Glass City Marathon and a turn into a boisterous cheering crowd. It happened for me about 22 minutes into the race.  Today the chill of the morning and perfect light made this moment the one where I teared up inside, and a little outside. It's been a long winter. It's been a long past 4 weeks. But in that moment I remembered the joy of participating in an endurance race. It might not have been the 26.2 I wanted or planned, but the overwhelming sense of accomplishment against the challenges surfaced as the crowd rang cowbells, held signs with silly phrases, and yelled words of encouragement. I didn't know a single person on the sidelines today, but it didn't matter to them and it didn't matter to me.  Over the course of this training cycle I've experienced a slew of emotions. I learned to feel the feels no matter how they came: Wonder Hope Disappointment Discouragement Resolve Satisfaction Pride Optimism Frustration Wear...
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