This has been a long week. In five days I logged 1500km of driving, mostly on the 401. Sunday was the trip to Stratford, and then on Monday I turned around and drove to Mississauga and back for a meeting. Tuesday was a rest day and then Wednesday I drove to Niagara Falls for the Ontario Energy Association conference. Spent the night and came back home yesterday.
This was the same conference at which I came down with pneumonia last year. This year I think I have escaped the pneumonia, but I have come down with some sniffles. And let's face it - that's how pneumonia starts. I am not taking any chances. Lots of rest for me this weekend.
At least, until 7 a.m. Sunday morning, at which time I am supposed to be on the start line of the Detroit International Half Marathon. These things always seem like a good idea several months out. I make promises to myself to run five times a week and really nail this race. I do good until Labour Day or so, at which point the days get short and dark and my enthusiasm wanes. I have been running more like three days a week lately. I had already been feeling a little unprepared and now to be sick on top of it - definitely not ideal.
This race definitely scares me - there are two points on the course for which I, someone who lives in a pancake-flat part of the world, am already woefully under-trained:
Well, too late to do anything about it now. I am not going to PR at this race but I do hope to finish, sick or not, with the added incentive of some cut-offs along the way - they reopen the bridge and tunnel to traffic at set times, and if you're not through the course at those times then you get the disgraceful ride back to the start line in the shuttle. That's plenty of motivation to just keep moving.
There is no more travel in my future until next spring, so if I can just make it through this race, I will get plenty of rest next week and will in fact be into the recovery phase of my training year - all my triathlons and road races behind me so I can finally just succumb to the Halloween mini chocolate bars and holiday sugar cookies, sleep in, and take a break until the new year. At that point, I will probably sign up for a few more races, make some promises about training schedules that I am unlikely to keep, and start the whole vicious cycle over again.
1 comment:
Good luck Carrie...the bridge isn't as bad as it looks on the elevation graph...just be careful of too fast a pace on that downhill, early in the race. You should think about doing the Springbank Half next year as it's closer to that Labour Day weekend and you can go for your goals sooner!
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