I read the email from the organizer of the marathon training group I loosely belong to. This weekend calls for a 17 mile run. I plan to go about 12. Yes, decision time has officially arrived. I have been saying for months that I have no plans to run a fall marathon. I have promised my wife. Now it's getting too late in the season to get the long runs in before a fall marathon.
The truth is, however, she doesn't even remember that promise, and she's not holding me to it. I would be free to jump into one if I really wanted to. So I guess it's just me. I need a little break from the 20 milers. and the stress, and the sleep deprivation and everything else that accompanies marathon training. It is a strange feeling, making a conscious decision to allow yourself to get a bit out of shape. I've been training pretty hard for a couple years now, and have had some really great race experiences, but it is time to sit one out. .
That's not to say I'm tak ing a break from running, just marathon training. Since the Boston marathon in April, I've done a number of other races from 5k to the half marathon. And I haven't missed a weekend long run all year. But at some point, it's nice to get back to why I run in the first place. I enjoy it.
You don't have to run for any other reason than that. Many runners train for races, but lose their motivation for the sport when they don't have a race coming up. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. Some of those people are great runners who also enjoy other sports and activities.
A couple years ago I met a a guy who lives near me who runs about 5 miles a day regularly, and has been for a long time. I asked him about a couple of different races that I thought he might be interested in, but he declined immediately, saying he doesn't race. I started to explain that most people run races just for fun, and to challenge themselves, but they don't necessarily 'race'. John 'The Penguin' Bingham described races these days as 'big moving celebrations' when I interviewed him about a week ago. I agree. For lots of runners, races are more of the reward for all the training rather than the traditional way I have always looked at them, which is like the test at the end of all the studying.
Races are a great was to celebrate our running, and to share our sport with other like-minded runners. They are fun. But entering races is not what defines a runner. Anyone who loves running, and does it regularly, is a runner in my book.
I was thinking about running another half marathon or two before the end of the summer/fall season. It turns out we're on vacation during the races I was considering. So that makes the decision pretty easy. I couldn't run them even if I wanted. That's not to say I won't try to find a 5k to try to run a fast time sometime in the next couple months. But if I don't, I'm fine with that too.
I want to enjoy running for the sake of running. That means solitary runs on the Prairie Path on weekday mornings. And long runs with my group of running friends on weekends. And guilt-free days off when I have other commitments.
I'm looking forward to it. At least until the marathon bug bites me again!
See you on the roads....
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