North Olympic Discovery Marathon – DNS
Isn’t it interesting how the body can surprise you? Five weeks ago I completed a 53 mile race and I felt incredibly strong. Three weeks ago there was an alarming amount of mucus coming out of my face (just a cold), so I didn’t run in order to rest up from my Scottish largy. Then two weeks ago, when I started to run again, my right psoas hurt, and I was getting aching pain all the way down the right side of my leg. Which left me grimacing like a soccer player and unable to run without pain. I still don’t know exactly what’s going on with that (working on it), so I haven’t had a run of any significance since April 30. All of which culminated to me feeling couch-potato unfit and completely not ready for a road marathon this weekend.
Could I ride the struggle bus and muscle through it? Maybe. One thing ultras teach you is how to put your head down and to just keep moving through the pain. But the bigger question – would it be worth it? Absolutely NOT. I have nothing to prove. I know I can do the distance, and frankly, I don’t want to break myself. While I love the course (it was my first marathon in 2011), it just wasn’t worth it for my long term health and racing prospects.
Also, it seems that every year there is at least one race that I sign up for and end up not running (usually due to some injury). So we can just check that box for this year, and add the running shirt to the collection. 🙂
The plus? We had a wonderful weekend with some family of friends out on the Olympic Peninsula. Wonderful company, tasty food, and great views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca from their deck. A nice little weekend getaway!
While I was out injured, Adam was not. So I was able to play spectator, for once, and cheer on Adam during the half marathon. He did a fantastic job and got himself a PR, despite the heat – 1:59:35!
Despite my near-constant window shopping on ultrasignup.com, I don’t (yet) have any big events on the calendar. We do have two half marathons in the fall (Iron Horse Half and Beat the Blerch), but nothing else. Considering my current bum leg, it appears to be a small blessing in disguise. It’s only been two weeks with this pain, so this all may sound a bit dramatic. But I do hope that soon my leg will stop acting like an angsty teenager and get over it (whatever “it” is). Summer is here, and there are gorgeous trails to run! Fingers crossed we’ll get it all sorted soon. 🙂
