14 September, 2009

Decision made...

I officially cancelled my NYC Marathon entry this weekend, deferring until the 2010 race, and I'm confident it was the right thing to do. We're 7 weeks away from race day, and I decided to be realistic, given the continued stomach issues and my lack of quality long runs at this point due to the stomach issues. I'll still be in NYC that weekend, just as head cheerleader on race day.

I'm going to do a half up here on November 8th instead as my second fall race for Neuroblastoma research at MSKCC.

Other random notes... I'm back from my trip to the city - observed 9/11, spent time with friends, and went to the US Open. Rain wreaked havoc with the Open schedule, and my tickets for mens semis on Saturday (first match at 11 a.m. and second immediately after that) became Sunday (matches at noon and 4:30 p.m.). So I saw the Nadal vs. Del Potro match - Del Potro was amazing. But I had to leave the Open to catch my flight at 7 p.m. Not a complete loss, though - it was a gorgeous day at the Open for the first match, and I saw the second match at the airport bar with an ice cold Corona or 2. Oh, I also went to the Met to see the Vermeer exhibit that just opened. Beautiful paintings.

I have 5 miles on tap for tonight after work, looking forward to working up a good sweat and getting the legs moving.

08 September, 2009

what to do, what to do

I'm in a muddle lately.

I've been debating, for weeks now, whether to run the NYC Marathon on November 1st, or to defer my entry until 2010. I haven't been able to finish a long run yet, due to stomach issues that seem to come on sometime around mile 6 or 7.

Two major issues come to mind:
1.) I haven't been able to finish a long run yet, so don't have the training on my legs or under my belt for race day, and
2.) Even if I can start the race, there's a good chance, based on the stomach issues I've had in my last few marathons, the 100-on-100, and my last few long training runs, that I'm going to end up walking the bulk of the marathon. I did that in 2008, walking the last 20, yes, you read that right, the last 20 miles. And it's just not how I envision my marathon.

I'm going to NY on marathon weekend. I have a flight down, and two nights of hotel booked. And I have my race entry, via the lottery. Which gives me the freedom to cancel. I can defer even up until the day before the race. So will keep training, keep trying to run long, and will hope for the best.

Worst case scenario, I found a half-marathon about 10 miles from home, the weekend AFTER New York. If I cancel NY, I can always do the half. That way, even if my stomach kicks in and I have to walk a bit, it won't be for that far.