It's official. I'm switching to the run/walk team for the MCM. I was determined to avoid this point and had hoped my training would be much further along. But as time has passed (far more quickly than the miles), I no longer feel so guilty about the Jeff Galloway approach. Not to mention, this article from the Huffington Post popped up on my Twitter feed this week, so I decided it was fate.
For one thing, it's my first (and maybe probably last) marathon. My goal is to enjoy the overall experience, rather than push myself to the point of no return. Don't get me wrong - I'm still going to be in an incomprehensible amount of pain that I am choosing to ignore right now. But I think it will make the overall experience slightly more enjoyable.
Secondly, I can actually still finish the marathon within my goal time (under 5 hours) by taking the run/walk approach. It doesn't HAVE to mean that my friends and family will be finishing dinner before I finish - so long as I keep on track with the run 3/walk 1 schedule.
And lastly (and by far, most importantly), I'll still have a buddy (and possibly two if we can keep Megs from dropping out) to run/walk it with. Tess has been training to run/walk it the entire time (she's already done a full 26!), so if I can keep up with her, we can entertain each other at least some (and maybe most) of the way.
So... what do you think? Am I a wuss? Probably. But not because of this. I'll still be running 21 of the 26 miles. I just have delicious walk breaks to look forward to now. Has anyone else tried the run/walk approach? I'm all ears for helpful advice.
Hi Sally!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you feel SO relieved to have a plan you are comfortable with and it sounds like the run/walk method is best for you at this point. A marathon is nothing to mess with, and you could seriously hurt yourself if you push too hard for such a long period of time.
It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks - you are doing what is best for you!