Saturday, April 22, 2006

The Marathon Keeps Teaching

ORN: 7 miles running, 2 miles walking.

Went out this morning, intending to do 11 miles at 9:30. Man, it felt good. The form felt quiet, smooth, comfortable. The first five miles went off at 9 07, 9 25, 9 19, 9 30, 9 07.

It just felt super. Moving on to miles 6 and 7, it just kept rolling, as I turned them at 9 13 and 9 10. I was doing calculations on my goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon, figuring I had a shot at it in Indy on May 6.

Then, I felt it.

My left knee, very quickly, developed a dull but clear ache. Some quick thinking reminded me I was only 13 days away from the Marathon. And so not surprising.

Unusually for me, I backed it off,cut the route short and walked it home.

It was a beautiful spring day...just wonderful to be out, so it was enjoyable simply being in the sunshine. And the lesson of remembering the seriousness of the marathon distance. It is a clear teacher, a taskmaster, a distance not taken lightly.

Good stuff. Persevere.

1 comment:

jeanne said...

ouch. smart thinking to cut it short, rather than risk injury.