Farewell to the Marathon?

I've given up hope for having a rockin' good marathon. In fact, I probably have no business attempting to crawl a marathon, nevermind run it. Regardless, I intend to toe the starting line on Sunday...and hopefully toe the finish line as well.

However, I only plan to run while I feel good and painfree. The minute I start to hurt (more than normal marathon hurt) I plan on hopping up on the curb to join the spectators. I am only going to run for as long as it is fun...which may be 26.2 miles or it may be 4. I'm okay with either option!

I know that no matter how well (or poorly) I do in this race, I know I am capable of better. This past season showed me what I am capable of and I plan on reaching that level again next year...but I am smart enough to know that even if I CAN break 4:30 this year, that only means that I could have done better had I not done the Ironman. So, why kill myself this time? Hence my plan to run while it's fun.

Next year I will see what I am made of...or maybe I will just say that I am made of a 4:43 marathon (my current PR) and call it a day. My true love lies in the triathlon anyway and my biggest fear in pushing myself too hard on this race is it's effect on the rest of my triathlon season.

I had originally planned on this being my final marathon. The marathon just isn't my bag and I don't think my knees like it that much. I'd rather run forever than run marathons for only a few more years. This being said, I had originally said this would be my final marathon when I thought I could rock it. Since I can't rock it, (or even if I DO rock it, I know I could rock it MORE), we will see what the future holds.

Regardless, good luck to all of you running the Houston full marathon, the half marathon and the 5K! It should be a gorgeous day for a run! Leave your headphones at home and just enjoy the people around you! Race day is why you train...and you can only really enjoy it if you can experience all the sights and sounds!

Chuck Norris Never Ran 26.2!!