I Run For Medals

This is a long-winded post. Please bear with me.

There are many reasons to run and race. The past year, my focus was mainly on running fast times, getting a BQ, and placing well. I figured out that in 2007 I did 27 races- 20 of those were running only races. Ummmm...I was a little burned out by the end of the year. But, that is a topic for another post.

Out of those 20 road races, 3 of them were marathons.
1. April- St Louis: came off of a broken foot in December-6 weeks no running. Minimal time to train but had a strong 3:44. Felt great until mile 23...then uh-oh. Lungs were fine, legs could not make it up the hills. Very proud of myself for a strong marathon overall. Recovery was fast too! Couldn't wait to blow out the next race.

2. October-Chicago: Hello? Self-explanatory. I was in the best running shape of my life. I had a new PR in every distance. I felt as thought I was ready to run in the low 3:30s or faster. Instead, I made it to mile 20 where I sat in the middle of the road with the tetanizing cramps in my legs with spectators messaging them for me. I was dehydrated and completely sodium depleted. 2 med tent stops and 6 miles of barely walking followed. 4:35. I was lucky to be functioning...but demoralized after all of the training I had done. Chicago 2007 Marathon-the race from hell...literally- I lived through history!

3. December-St Jude: I decided to jump into this one 7 weeks later. I knew it was a mistake. I never had an interest in running this marathon. But, I was so upset that my fitness was wasted in Chicago and I did not get my BQ. I won't even go into details. No BQ. I even tried to quit the race-something I had never done before. Horrible way to finish the year after such a great, positive year. 4:00

So, what is running for medals? What does that mean?

• You run a marathon because it is a great accomplishment. The medal means something. Marathons are hard and you have done something wonderful- no matter how fast or slow.
• You don't shy from a marathon because you are
  
• worried about how "slow" you might be-you get a medal regardless
  
• worried about what your friends might think of your time- do they have the medal?
  
• feel inadequate if your clock time doesn't blow people away. The medal will blow them away.
  
• You don't DNF a marathon unless you have an injury-not wanting a slow time on your record is no excuse. Remember, you are running to get a medal, and you can't get one if you don't finish.
  
• Who do you think your grandkids are going to look up to? Gramps who has run one 3:10 marathon, or Granny who has run 56 marathons that were all over 5 hours. Bling speaks loudly to kids. Just show them all of your medals and they will know who the "real" athlete is in the family.
  

So, this weekend I am running the Andrew Jackson Marathon. I didn't follow any plan and my miles are quite a bit lower than what I normally like to do for marathon training. - You know that pretty much freaks me out b/c I like to be really prepared. But, I think this is a great opportunity to go out there and have a great time, work on my nutrition, work on my mental strength, and bring home a finisher's medal. It is great Ironman Florida preparation, and it is a good chance for me to mentally get back in the game by hanging tough the whole way through.

May the weather be nice and the hills even nicer!