As of yesterday, the LA Marathon is exactly a month away!! I’m super excited for it…but not for the reason I was originally.
About two or three weeks ago, I finally faced the fact that I would not be able to make it through the marathon. I mentioned my knee/IT band problems in my first post about the marathon, and, unfortunately, they only got worse. I kept telling myself, “If I could just take a break and get this problem to go away, I could get up to about 13 miles before the race and just…wing the other 13.2 on race day!” Ya, that’s my crazy mind trying to make this marathon work.
Once I realized even THAT was unattainable, I knew I had to throw in the towel and shift from being a runner to being a spectator. Although this has been quite difficult for me to accept, considering all ASICS has done for me so far and how AWESOME this race sounds, I’m actually really excited to go. Matt will still be running the race, and this is pretty significant, at least in my opinion, because it’s his FIRST legitimate marathon! He’s been a runner since he was a wee little one – and he’s apparently run 26 miles before for funsies because he’s crazy – but on the books, this will be his first marathon medal. THAT is something AWESOME I can’t wait to support.
In the end, this is just a race. It’s not something I’ve been working towards for years – I haven’t invested my life’s work for this. Although it was a great opportunity, thanks to ASICS, I guess I was not destined to go through with it. I suppose that’s just part of the game though.
Sometimes you can do everything you can to make it work, but it’s just not meant to be. That doesn’t mean this will be my last go at a second marathon though. 😉 This only motivates me more to get my body back to training shape to make something awesome happen in the future.
Are you currently training for race? Which one?!
Have you ever had to drop out of a race because of injury?
This is a tough choice, but I’m glad that you made the right choice for you–the worst thing you could do would be not only to associate the entire experience with anxiety (even if it goes well) or to get hurt in a big way but to have both of those things happen. So now? Live the dream and cheer everyone on! I’ve had 2 races that I’ve dropped due to injury, and one that I was terrified of up until the moment I finished. Was it awesome? Yes, but it was my first marathon. But it could have been terrible!
Ya, it’s true. I’ve known for way longer that I shouldn’t run the race, but I guess not being able to run a full mile without limping was the convincing that I needed to call it quits. It’s definitely for the best because, like you said, now I won’t associate the race with anxiety and get seriously injured. Thanks for your kind words. 🙂
Good for you to know what’s best for your body! You can totally take this time to get back to your strongest running else and stay safe! XOXOXOXO
Thanks. 🙂 And that’s the goal!
Dropping out of races is never fun, but there is another side to it since you get some relief. It’s definitely a smart decision since you’re having issues rather than try to carry on and have a permanent or more damaging injury later on.
I know about dropping out races all too well these days. I have either not been able to run a race because I was randomly out of town for something more important or I was pregnant and realized I was way too tired to even run a few miles! I haven’t had to drop out because of injury though and I am thankful for that.
Aww I’m sorry you know the feeling “all too well” – this is only my first race I’ve had to drop out of. It’s definitely not a good feeling, but I guess it’s important to know when to make the call, especially for people like you who are preggers! Hopefully, we’ll both be back to running soon enough. 🙂
It’s really really hard to drop out of a race especially one that you are running with someone else. I am in the same boat myself dropping out of RnR DC in a few weeks. I am trying to look towards the future and know that I am doing the right thing. It’s really hard though sometimes.
Oh no! So sorry to hear about your race. 🙁 And you’re right, not being able to run a race you were planning to do WITH someone is almost worse. I’m just trying to focus on the silver lining of still be there as their support.
I think coming to this realization is harder than all those training hours you put in for an event. I commend you on having the courage to know when to throw in the towel. There is a bigger picture here and you clearly see it (applause!). I’m currently training for the Flying Pig Marathon and some of my training days haven’t gone as expected so I’ve had to re-evaluate my expected finish time. Thanks for sharing.