So I had come to the realization that I wasn’t going to be ready for the full Twin Cities Marathon on October 2nd, broke the news to my wife and made that painful phone conversation with my buddy Dave (The undertaker, last man to let you down) that I wouldn’t be joining him in “our” first marathon. It was a pretty tough little patch for me – I even sunk deep enough into a mini-depression that I skipped some runs, etc. I am so upset with myself for not following through with things and have vowed to not do that anymore – So instead of looking at this as a failed attempt, I am just making a realistic adjustment to allow me to eventually achieve my goal. Instead of the full marathon at the beginning of October, I am now going to run the Monster Dash half marathon at the end of October. That said, I still had my goal of completing my first Marathon before my 40th birthday on September 14th, 2012. Looks like it won’t be the Twin Cities, because that takes place in October – close, but still not before my 40th birthday. So as I started searching for marathons, it occurred to me, I will not have Dave to pace me on this one and at my size/pace, there won’t be any pace groups that I can hang with. Then, as if a sign from whatever power you believe in, I read the Bendoeslife blog as I do daily and learned of their plans for 2012 to run 52 marathons next year and act as unofficial pacers for those like me finishing towards the end of the pack. I literally got tears in my eyes – What timing! So as I continue my training, I am eagerly awaiting to see their schedule for next year and if I have to fly across the country to run it with them, I will do that.
You can totally do it!
ReplyDeleteI am also on my own journey we will both do this for our daughters. We would never break a promise involving them. Check out my blog and I am going to continue following yours.
ReplyDeletethediagnosisthatsavedmylife.tumblr.com
You are doing an awesome job and are very inspiring.
Justin
Hey there, coming over from Bens blog. I'm in this for my kids too. Keep working towards your goals. Good luck. I'm going to go peruse your sight now. Have a great weekend and get out there and Do Life!
ReplyDeleteHey Rich - I am planning to run the Monster Dash Half this October too - just started my training in earnest last week. Also have a group of folks meeting to encourage each other to "start living" (What If I Lived blog: http://what-if-i-lived.blogspot.com/.
ReplyDeleteYou should join us this Sunday for our Lake Harriet walk/run! We can share training ideas.
We’ll be meeting at the rose garden (by the center fountain) around 2PM and then heading over to the walking path. Hope to see you there.
I love this part:
ReplyDelete"So instead of looking at this as a failed attempt, I am just making a realistic adjustment to allow me to eventually achieve my goal."
Every time I let my expectations get the best of me, this is the line of thinking that kept me going. So what if I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be (yet) - no reason to keep on working. And I love that you aren't afraid to pick the right-sized goal for the circumstance. Thinking like a runner!
Congrats on the write-up by Ben - what a fabulous post. Really enjoy reading your blog - I'm always inspired. I'm planning on doing the Monster Dash too - looking forward to it! You've totally got this!
Rich:
ReplyDeleteHang in there, you will get to the marathon! Most of us have had to re-adjust our schedules along the way, I pushed my Ironman back a year myself, so don't let that get to you.
When you pick you marathon next year, let me know. If it is after June (before which I will be on a strict Ironman training schedule) I will come out and pace the run with you.
-Travis