Do I feel completely ready for the Wineglass Marathon next weekend? Hell no! Am I as ready as I’m going to be at this point? Yes. There’s nothing I can do in the next week to make myself more fit. The only thing I can do at this point is ruin my race if I try to cram in too many miles. So even though I really feel like I should do more long runs, I’m going to be smart (for once), and taper properly. And that means I am skipping the Berryman Adventure Race, the one that started it all for me, even though it’s killing me to do so.
The good news: I’ve set a new distance record in each of the last three weekends. The bad news: Not all the runs were pretty. In fact, the 16-miler 3 weekends ago was probably the worst run of my life. The 90+ degree temperature and high humidity had something to do with it, I’m sure, but if I had done that run before the deadline for changing my entry to the Half Marathon, then I would have switched my entry with no hesitation. As fate would have it, though, I slogged my way through those 16 miles a day after the deadline passed, so I was stuck doing the full marathon whether I liked it or not.
That run crushed me, and I thought there was no way I could finish a marathon. By the end of those 16 miles, I was alternating between “running” 1 minute and walking 1 minute instead of my usual 4:1 ratio – and the “running” had turned into a pathetic shuffle. Fortunately, the 18-miler a week later went much better with the temps in the 70′s, and this past weekend, my 20 miler went as well as I could have expected. I felt like I could have gutted out another 6.2 miles if I had to, but it would have hurt… a lot. But no one said this Marathon thing would be easy, now did they?
Even though, it’s going to be a ridiculously slow marathon, my goal for this one is just to finish under my own power. I’ll worry about my finishing time at the next one. And as long as I finish, it will be a new PR for me since this is my first. And I really hope I’ll earn the wineglass to go along with my Dirty Kanza Finisher’s glass.
So happy, and so tired. Hopefully, I’ll have the same feeling next Sunday!
Due to injuries, both of my brothers have elected to defer their entry to next year. This was really the smart thing to do for both of them. There was just no way for them to train properly with their injuries. This also means that I’m more likely to return next year as well. Unfortunately, Zack and his family won’t be making the trip out to NY, so it won’t be a full reunion of the Lamb Fam.
My nephew, Austin, switched his entry to the Half Marathon as did my Dad. Again, this was the right decision for both of them. This is Austin’s first race of anything longer than a 5K (in fact, it might be his first running race ever!). And my Dad’s work schedule has just been too brutal to allow him enough time to train properly for the full 26.2 miles. He’s definitely ready for the Half Marathon, though, and I can’t wait to see him at the finish line.
Even though all of us aren’t running the full Marathon next weekend, we’re still running. And some day, I truly believe we’ll all run one together. This is just another step in our family’s quest for the marathon. After all, the journey to finishing a marathon isn’t a sprint, it’s a… well… it’s a marathon I guess.
