The Song of Gilligan

It is exactly three weeks from the half marathon.  Three weeks.  This will be the fifth time I have done this particular one.  I remember when I did it the first time.  I said it will be my last one...ever.  So, five of these and a couple of other ones later and I'm still at it.  I keep saying that I'm not going to anything with the word thon in it again.  But, I keep signing up.  As the pain goes away from my last marathon, I am even considering doing another one of those.  I kind of feel like the last one beat me.  I'm trying to decide if I can live with that.  My biggest realization in the last few weeks is that I am pretty much full of shit.  I don't mean to be.  I fully intend to concentrate on shorter races, like 5k's, but then something happens and I get the urge to do something else.  I've done three Tough Mudders.  I thought the first one would be my last.  The second one definitely was my last.  Until the third one.  The third is probably my last.  The cost is getting prohibitive.  That is my main reason.  The cost is crazy high.  I have also gotten to the point where I don't just sign up for lots of stuff anymore.  The costs of numerous races is just a lot of money.  I'm trying to pick and choose the ones I really want to do and the ones that are for a good cause.  I would like to do something Tough Mudderish, because I like to climb over stuff and I like mud.  I like the upper body challenge.  Blah, blah...blah.  This is really boring.  I am boring myself to tears writing this.  Do I stop?  Have I gone too far to delete?  It is sort of like an out and back run.  Once you go too far, you have too far to go back.  All the sudden you are running a crap ton of miles, or in this case, writing a crap ton of words.  I'm like the Gilligan of blog post.  Go out for what you think is a three hour tour and then I'm stuck on a island for years.  This post is my island.

Let's regroup here.  Due to the fact that this is a running blog, I'm going to say something about running.  Today, while running through the woods with my friends, I made the statement that I could run forever if my legs didn't get tired.  They laughed, because the legs always get tired, but what if they were so well conditioned that they didn't?  At least for a long time.  When I was coming off my plantar's issue a few years back, I experienced a moment of zen.  I had such a bad case, that I could not do regular runs for months.  That is when I started doing the step workout, switched to training in Vibram's, running in Kinvaras and fully embraced the minimalist thing.  Taught myself to run on my forefoot again, like I did when I was a sprinter in high school and college.  Got my stride back, and stopped being a plodder.  Anyway, I strengthened my feet and my calves by doing lots of step work.  Also, did lots of kettlebell work.  When I started running again on the road and the trails, I made sure that I did a quality run.  Quantity did not matter at the time.  I just wanted to run and finish strong and with a positive attitude.  If that was two miles or three miles, it was fine...as long as I finished strong.  The kettlebells and the steps worked my legs in a way that was just incredible.  Flash foreward to my first 5k after my comeback and my legs never died.  They felt strong the whole way.  I was actually surprised to see the finish line.  It was awesome.

Knowing that my long runs have not been real good leading up to this half, I have been beating my legs up in other ways.  They are sore and tired.  I am hoping to pull all this together in the next few weeks and have a decent performance in the half.  In a way, this is like my first one again.  I just do not know what to expect.  I know I can finish.  I know that I can do okay, but I'm just not sure what okay means. Last year I knew that I could do a sub 1:50 if I was on my game.  This year, I'm not sure.  I'm getting excited to find out.  Then on to bigger and other things.

I believe this is one of the reasons I still love running.  I'm still surprised and amazed to see what my body will do on any given day.  I have to stop writing now and find a way off this island.