Updates, aka "how's the ol' marathon training going?"

New goal: dominate ten of the k's.

So, this is admittedly a difficult post to write (not just because it's been like 2 months since I've blogged...) but here I go anyway. A little back story first...so, I moved. To Chicago. Which is an awesome place, by the way, and you should totally come visit. And I started a new job, which has been great, but has only gotten (and will continue to get) busier since I started at the end of July. I knew when I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in March that I'd be graduating and life would change a little, but I think I underestimated the impact a new job and a new home can have.

I've been doing the best I can to stay on top of my marathon training, but frankly, it just hasn't been going that well. I think this first hit me when I realized I was supposed to run 10 miles three days after I moved to Chicago. Moving is exhausting, yo! And so is running 10 miles! Anyway, I could make a million excuses, but the fact is this: it's just not the right time to do this. I've known this subconsciously for a while, but tonight is the first time I actually admitted it out loud. 

I do think that I could do it, or at least give it a shot, but frankly I don't want to. I want to do my first marathon when I'm excited about it (and I mean IT, not just being done with it), when I have the time and energy to devote to it, and the confidence that I can do it and do it strongly and without the risk of injury. Ultimately, I want to find bright spots in the process, and right now, it feels like a massive pressure-system (I think I might watch too much Weather Channel) hanging over my head.

I probably won't be this fast. Probably.

So here's what I've done: I've deferred my registration for a year, which means I'm guaranteed a spot in the 2013 MCM. I registered for the Marine Corps 10K, which is the same day as the MCM (October 28th), and is a course I am familiar with, having done the same race a few years ago. I have 51 days now, which I plan on using to do interval and hill work along with cross-training, with the ultimate goal of improving my pace and, hopefully, running a strong, decently fast 10k. And since I love running in the fall and winter, my goal is to use that time to prepare for a half sometime in the spring, and then take advantage of the slower summer season at work to ramp up my preparation for MCM 2013. PHEW. 

Anyway, most of you who know me know I'm a planner. And if you don't know that about me, you probably figured it out with that big list over there to the right, oh and that paragraph right above here. So it's disappointing to have had a plan that needs...reformatting. But ultimately, being a grown up is as much about flexibility, compromise and, maybe most importantly, knowing my own limits as it is about setting goals. The immense sense of relief I feel having amended my plans means I know I did the right thing for me. 

And luckily, I've done a lot already, and there's plenty of time to get the rest done. So maybe 30 can be the start line, and not the finish.