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 half. There are two options. 

1. Run the lights out of it and aim for a 1:35 (or under finish)
2. Run along side a friend working on his first half-marathon

My most recent tempo effort happened 5 days ago 7:21 for 7 miles. With lots of heat and still coming down from smashing my face. So it's not that unreasonable to think I could place a respectable top 10% of the field (maybe top 10 in age group?). Also, last time I ran a dedicated half marathon (not a training or split in a full marathon) was Summer 2023 when I hit 2:03:41 It could be helpful to have a clear picture of what I could do at that distance and then approach the Fall with a renewed go at the marathon distance. 

This is the practical solution. There are so many fewer things that could go wrong at 13.1 miles than 26.2 miles


circa 2023

A very hot race.



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