The race that never was....(or 30k training recap)

Time to admit it, say it out loud, write it down, whatever.

I will not be participating in the 30K Midsummer Night's Run next weekend.

Whew! There. I've said it. I've been dreading this moment.
During week 5 of training while on vacation I undertook a 21km training run and apparently did some serious damage to my left leg. Glutes! Hammies! Who needs 'em? Yeah, they tend to come in handy in the whole motorization of your body thing. I killed mine. Ugh.

But enough with the "woe is me". I've sought out some therapy (the physical kind, come on now!!) and will just need to wait a bit longer to participate in a longer distance race. Better to sit this one out than to further injure myself. I still have my sights set on the 25k trail run at the end of September. Hopefully my body will be healed by then & I will be able to get a good training regime going.

Here's to good training, persistence & perhaps a bit of luck (!) to help me get to the next finish line!!

Commitment - an act of insanity or a pledge?

According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary the word commitment can be defined as:

Definition of COMMITMENT

1

a : an act of committing to a charge or trust: as (1) : a consignment to a penal or mental institution (2) : an act of referring a matter to a legislative committeeb : mittimus

2

a : an agreement or pledge to do something in the future;especially : an engagement to assume a financial obligation at a future dateb : something pledgedc : the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionallyimpelled <a commitment to a cause>

As far as I know I haven't committed any acts that would involve a stay at a penal or mental institution.  Well definitely not the penal, but there are days that some may say a nicely padded solitary cell is required!

Photo courtesy of www.123rf.com

No, I'm talking about commitment because I've just made one.  A personal one.  A BIG one. Obligated myself to participate in a future event.  

Take a guess what it is.

It involves wearing brightly coloured clothing, mostly skin tight clothing, and not particularly a lot of it.  NOOO!  Minds out of the gutter please, this is a family show!

It also involves a lot of sweat (okay, really, I already told you not to go there) as well as determination.

Ever heard of A Midsummer Night's Run? No.  Well it's a summer time endurance event.  There are 2 options for distance - 15k or 30k.  Last summer I ran the 15k and that was the hardest physical event I've completed to date.  I didn't have enough training, was 40lbs too heavy and it was HOT!

Photo courtesy of fotosearch.com

The 2 Half Marathons I did next were way easier than that race.

But because I'm a sucker for punishment or something (remember that padded cell from up above?) this year I'm going all out.  THIRTY K BABY!!! In. The. Middle. Of. August.

I've signed on the dotted line.  Paid my fees.  Made the schedule.  It's a done deal.

Photo courtesy of http://icondoit.wordpress.com

The commitment is made.  My schedule is posted on the fridge for all to see.  There can't be any excuses.  There will be a lot of running going on over the next 11 weeks.  I will need help.  I might need to beg, plead, whine, promise lovely gifts to enlist the help of my family. (I think I see some shopping trips & daddy play dates in my future!!)  It's all about teamwork right?

This is my next big step.  A trip down the path to my end goal of that full marathon run. More to follow in the weeks to come as I get going with the training.

Once again I'm hanging out at YeahWrite - a great blogging community.  Read & be read!!  Enjoy.