Friday, November 7, 2008

Pro/Con

I've been thinking about marathons a lot lately, thanks to my doctors visit and the kind and positive comments from fellow bloggers. The idea of running a marathon scares me-all the what ifs to worry about. So I decided to approach a marathon the same way Hubby and I have approached many other issues we've faced in the past, with the good old pro/con list:

Why I shouldn't run a marathon:
  • The training will take months of hard work, hard running and absolute discipline.
  • I could injure myself either in the training or running the race itself.
  • I might dnf
  • It will take a lot of planning and research to find the right race and the right training plan
  • I might crash and burn and end up walking most of the race-how embarrassing!

OK, those are the only cons I can think of at the moment; let's examine them. Yes, it will take lots of training for months to be properly prepared. But I'm already running on a regular basis, 30 mpw, and I've religously stuck to my training plan for half marathons, so where's the problem? Most big goals require hard work. This is no different. The accomplishment justifies the work.

Yup, I could injure myself. I could also injure myself every time I go out for a run, whether it's a 4 mile easy run or a 20 miler in preparation for a marathon. If I train properly, I can avoid injury.

Yeah, I'll have to do a lot of research. And yet, when I'm planning a vacation, I seem to have no problem spending hours on the computer finding just the right hotel, airline deal, car rental. So how is this different?

OK, the possibility of a dnf is a really stupid excuse for not trying a marathon. Yes, I might fail. I might end up walking most of the race. I might end up crawling across the finish line. I'll never know what will happen if I don't try. And I have in fact come in dead last at a race and I survived the embarrassment, so I can assume the same would be true for a marathon.

Why I should run a marathon:

  • Bragging rights. I'm all about the subtle, "last year when I did my marathon" kind of conversation.
  • I'm pretty stinkin healthy so now would be a good time to do a marathon.
  • I'm so boringly average, it would be nice to have something on my life resume that only a small portion of the population have done.
  • In the end, after all the training and work, it will be only 5 hours (probably 6) of physical and mental stress in exchange for a lifetime of knowing I faced the challenged and accomplished something really big.

The reasons to do a marathon speak for themselves and need no explanation or debate. I still don't know if I'm going to do one, but if I don't, I have no excuse.

6 comments:

Dustie said...

Where there's a will - there's a way....you can do it! You will have my support 100% because I know there will be a day when I need to ask Tanya for some advise on running a full marathon...just like I did attempting the half marathon! I didn't think I could do that race, but with the support of people like you I found the motivation to get out and do it - now no one can take that from me. YOU GO GIRL! If you decide to do it - you will have a ton of support...if not, at least you gave yourself a moment of "i can do that" thought!

Unknown said...

The question you didn't answer is whether you WANT to run a marathon. That's probably the most important question of them all. :-)

BeachRunner said...

Booyah homegirl. If you answer yes to Lisa's question, then sign up and start training.

WendyBird said...

Three little words:
GO FOR IT!
The worst that can happen is you are out the race fee :-)

The Running Bob said...

A classmate at the age of 13 did something grand -- run a marathon. For 14 years I wondered if I could do it. By chance while living in Chicago, Jeff Galloway had a sign-up kick-off for the Chicago Marathon and his training group that promised success with his program. I wished I didn't waste 14 years just "wondering if I could".

robison52 said...

May I suggest you train for the 2009 Las Vegas Marathon? You'll have 13 months to prepare, plenty of time to slowly increase your weekly mileage. It's not that far from your home, you could easily drive here. Has a flat, easy, and fast course. Has entertainment at every mile marker. Your hubby could enjoy VEGAS baby! Least and not least, I'd be able to meet your for the first time!!