My decision to not do the marathon in 3 weeks comes about as a result of many things. First thing was the foot injury which resulted from bad shoes, then there was the head cold brought about through trying to train for a marathon and bicycle commute at the same time (sickness is just one side effect of overtraining, the other is pretty serious depression which I suffered with on Sunday). Today I had to ask myself why. I will not meet my goal time at this point with all the training I have lost (and the original goal wasn't that fast anyway), It is no longer fun, and last of all but most important, my knees are taking longer and longer to recuperate from these runs and this stupid marathon has already sidetracked me enough from my first love - cycling (well, we are talking love of activities or inanimate objects here of course, my wife and family are the top of the living list). So, in a matter of minutes my whole spring training program turns around and the world seems a little brighter. I can't bike commute and train for a marathon at the same time so the marathon training has to go.
So, this opens a world of opportunity. I can participate in the brevet series this spring (this weekend's 200k is a no go since I still have a head cold) and am planning on the 300k in February. I may run my 200k permanent next week though as I will be missing the 200k brevet, I will have to see how the weekend looks. I also can bike commute worry free without regard to how it will affect my other training and will no longer have to worry about sore muscles from weekend workouts and joint pain. So, I think despite my forays into running and swimming I am deep down really a cyclist and there is just nothing at all to be done about that. So, I guess I am condemned to riding over hill and desert dale with a smile on my face, a helmet on my head and the wind in my ears.
Sometimes I dream
Sitting under a florescent glare,
I gaze outside and ponder,
How I wish to be out there,
By bike, to pedal and wander.
My attention outside the window,
On an ocean starts to drift,
To roads beyond the city glow,
Where troubles, pain, and sorrow rift
To ride! Amid the cactus and hills!
To glide, cross valleys and plains,
To ride the rollers and endless rills,
Forgetting sorrow, and soulful pains.
Yet trapped behind a reinforced wall,
I must bide until the time arrives,
To cast off my malaise and the pall,
Sitting under a florescent glare,
I gaze outside and ponder,
How I wish to be out there,
By bike, to pedal and wander.
My attention outside the window,
On an ocean starts to drift,
To roads beyond the city glow,
Where troubles, pain, and sorrow rift
To ride! Amid the cactus and hills!
To glide, cross valleys and plains,
To ride the rollers and endless rills,
Forgetting sorrow, and soulful pains.
Yet trapped behind a reinforced wall,
I must bide until the time arrives,
To cast off my malaise and the pall,
riding my bike down endless drives.
2 comments:
Sorry to hear about your running dilema. But it definately sounds like you're making a good decision to nix the runnin. Just wondering: what kind of surface were you running on? I've recently begun running again after a 10 year stint off. Trail running has been a lot easier on me than running on pavement.
Riding is far easier and more enjoyable!
Most of my running was pavement and canal banks as the Marathon was on pavement. I enjoy trailrunning a lot more actually. I think going forward I am going to do Half Marathon and less distances if I can swing them with Cycling at the same time.
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