Facing reality

I was hoping to have positive news to share with you about my progress towards completing my
marathon adventure in Ottawa on May 27th. With only 10 weeks of training left, I have been increasing my cardio and leg strength through non-running exercises as I emphasize physio and massage for my injured calf. On Monday I went out for a low-level walk/run and completed 55 minutes. I was ecstatic about my progress and looked forward to increasing my pace this morning but at the 30-minute mark, I felt the calf muscle pull and limped home, dejected and discouraged.

I met with coach this morning and we have agreed on three things:
1. I will not run until April 1st. This is a neccessary step to allow my injury to heal. I will continue my non-running exercise regimen during this time to allow me to ease back into a running program once my injury heals completely.
2. With only about 7 weeks to train after I start running again, it's unrealistic for me to anticipate I will be able to run a marathon in late May. There just isn't enough time to build stamina and endurance to the level required to complete the 26-mile distance.
3. I can probably run the Ottawa half-marathon as part of re-building my fitness level as I search for another marathon in mid or late Summer. So the dream is not dead, just deferred for a while. Such is the reality of life.

All things being equal, it's pretty tough for me to stay down for very long. I'm in the best shape I've been in ten years, my weight and my body fat percentage continue to drop, I have more energy than ever and I like the way I look. Besides, with all the cross-training I'm doing, maybe I'll look at completing a trialthlon instead of just a marathon.

until next week,

Michael