Get smart

I've been training stupidly. And it's finally caught up with me.

Let's backtrack a bit.

I've been embarrassingly bad at doing my weekday runs. I always end up sleeping in before work and then there's inevitably something going on after work. And even days when I do have time to run, something else catches my attention and I make up an excuse, or tell myself I'll get up and do it the next morning.

So over the past four weeks I've done anywhere from 0 to 2 runs during the weekdays and one long run on the weekends. That is so NOT a good way to train for a marathon.

After skipping yesterday and completely chowing down on Twizzlers and ice cream instead, I vowed to run 7 miles this morning. Then I slept in, and finally had the drive to do it this evening.

I felt great for about 3 miles or so. Then suddenly it felt like my shoes lost all support. I actually looked down to double check that I didn't accidentally wear my old running shoes. They felt worn out and my feet and ankles started to hurt.

After 3 1/2 miles I decided to cut it a little less than a mile short to save myself for my 17-miler planned for tomorrow morning.

At mile 4 I flat out headed for home. My left shin was in terrible pain - worse than it's felt all year. In fact, I was just the other day thinking about how great it is that my shins haven't been acting up whilst training. Well, today they decided to remind me that I have to take care of them if they're going to cooperate.

I made it home, with a walk break after the shin incident, in 5 miles (47:31). My body felt great, and ready for more. My legs felt bad.

I really need to get smart if I want to run this marathon without getting injured. I need to dedicate myself to training during the week even if my schedule is busy. Long runs alone will not get me to the finish line injury free.

I've decided to ditch the 17-miler tomorrow and maybe do 10 miles instead. This week I'll focus on training every day and then do my 17 or 18 miles on Saturday. The following week I have the milestone 20-miler.

Theme from now on: GET SMART! TRAIN HARD!