I’d be a liar if I said my race today was amazing. Or that I had the time of my life. Truth be told, I was rather miserable during my half mary this morning. My legs felt like lead. I had crazy stomach cramps. Around mile 10 I felt a cramp in my left calf. My heart wasn’t in it. My head wasn’t in it. I should be pumped, I managed to squeeze out my second fastest half, ever. But I’m not. I tried to figure out what was going on during the race, and why I had such a bad taste in my mouth today, and with a few hours of reflection, a nap, and more reflection during church tonight, I have come to the conclusion. I’m tired people. I need a break. I trained my face off for 20 weeks for Boston. Then I immediately jumped into another marathon without a break, and then somewhere between crazy and insanity, I thought running the half today would be a great idea, so that’s what I did. Thing is, after Boston, I was higher than high. I never wanted that feeling to end. I think that’s why I wanted to keep running, and racing. It is too easy for me to get sucked up into the feeling of euphoria running and racing gives me, resulting in me avoiding taking time off from running like the plague.
But it is time. Today sealed the deal. And I’m okay with that. In fact, I am looking forward to some weeks of going out for a few easy runs here and there, doing some light cross-training, getting back into strength training, and really investing more time and effort towards my flexibility. I’m going to take this entire next week off from running completely, and not do any crazy mileage for a solid 4 weeks. In 6 weeks I am going to start training for my fall goal race, the NYC Marathon.
On a happier note, the day wasn’t a complete wash. I am grateful I was able to run a solid time without being focused. I am thankful for having the opportunity to run today, and for the ability to run that God has given me. But most importantly, I am grateful for the sense of community that surrounds running, and the ability to make new friends through this sport that I hold so dear to my heart.
This weekend I was finally able to meet the following Tweeps face-to-face: @Justin_McI @finishingfirsts
@CLECraftBeerRun @Beal88 . @finishingfirsts, who rocked the half as well, met up with me around mile 25 to cheer our faces off for our fellow runners, including the aforementioned, as well as @MojaMala2 ! I had a complete blast this morning, cheering for all of those brave souls conquering the 26.2! It was the boost I needed to dig me out of the negative frame of mind my race left me with. Everyone who was out there this morning should be SO flippin’ proud of their accomplishments. I finally understand why Mommaberries enjoys watching my races so much! Getting to enjoy a marathon from a differing perspective was such a blessing for me today. In fact this entire weekend was. I helped out at the Marathon Expo for the American Cancer Society Team Determination on Friday, I volunteered on Saturday with the Run for Autism group by working one of the water stations at the Cleveland Marathon 5K , and then I gave back by offering words of encouragement to the full marathoners at a tough section of the race.
It takes so much time and effort behind the scenes to put a race, of any distance, on successfully, and I am so happy that I decided to give a few hours here and there, that hopefully enhanced someone else’s race day experience. This weekend taught me that I can be a part of the running community, and taste the marathon magic, even while not racing. And I just may be lucky enough to make a few new friends along the way.
I am so glad we finally got to meet and cheer on everyone! It really helped me too after I had a less than stellar race. I had so much fun hanging out with you that my time doesn’t even matter
I’m gonna have to go ahead and say that you deserve a break
Awesome job today! And thanks for cheering me on at mile 25. That was huge for me!
You still did great! I’d say you have definitely earned a little reprieve! If this weather ever gets nice we’ll definitely have to get the bikes out. You are awesome!
Kudos to you for doing the marathon in this crazy weather. Just found your blog and its great. Nice to meet another Cleveland Blogger. I am following you via email. Check out my blog as well: diaperderby.blogspot.com. Take care!
We all need a break once in awhile. It’ll help you come back better than ever!!!
Congrats on the race, Molly!
Enjoy your time off! You clearly deserve it
Good for you for recognizing that you need to take a step back!!
And booo that I didn’t see you yesterday! For as many people as I knew who were running it with me – I saw NO BODY I knew! Bummer!
That’s great you got to meet up with the Tweeps!
Take the break you deserve it! You’ve worked so hard and have ran so well lately. Thanks for cheering and volunteering this weekend!
Recovery time is just as important as training, especially when you’re a maniac!
Giving back to the running community has been a way I’ve kept a positive perspective it the past. My first volunteering experience was at the 2009 Hermes 10 miler. I will cherish the things I learned that day. First watching the runners and cheering them was a blast. The gratutude most of them showed for our was really up lifting. We also got to work with my friend’s teenage disabled daughter, who can’t run, but was probable the loudest cheering person at our waterstop. Last, it was the first time I got to expose my then 4 year old daughter to running outside seeing daddy go for his daily run. She was so excited to hand water to the runners and cheer. The crowd support just by being out on the course and cheering is such a blessing to a runner. You and Kali coming back to cheer me helped finish so strong. I was glad to have! Thank you. See you at the first Cleveland Marathon Maniac meeting. 