I’m a classic Type A personality. Also known as: a control freak. I love lists. I love making plans. Setting goals. This is the way I roll. I’m completely aware of this aspect of my personality and it is something I work on constantly. I want to be more relaxed and flexible, but the truth is I am more relaxed when I know what to expect. Funny how that works.
So Richmond is in 2 days. We leave tomorrow and I have a little more than 24 hours to make my decision about whether or not to switch to the half marathon. This is one of those moments in my life where I am forced to learn how to let go. I need to be laid back about this and trust that whatever decision I make will be the best one for me. I need to stop freaking out!
When I’m faced with big decisions I like to make lists of pros and cons to help me decide. So, here we go:
Reasons TO run the full marathon:
- I love marathons. There is nothing like a 26.2!
- My sister wants to run the full and we could run it together. We haven’t run a race together – like side-by-side together – in two years. We also haven’t trained much together this season because our goals were so different. It would be really nice to have that time together.
- It would be FUN – not about a time goal, just about enjoying the race.
- I have never run the full Richmond marathon and I hear it is a really wonderful course. Plus I love Richmond and spent years working there. The city holds a special place in my heart.
- T, G and their posse are all running the full and it would be super fun to share the experience with them also.
Reasons NOT TO run the full marathon:
- I have already run 2 marathons in the past 2 months. Adding a third is a lot on my body.
- I want to begin training for my spring marathon (USA Rock n Roll, National) in early December. That is soon. I want to enter this training with fresh legs and feeling mentally strong.
- I tweaked my back earlier this week. While it is nothing serious and doesn’t bother me much, it is my body talking to me and I need to listen and be careful. Because….
- I do not want to get injured! The big picture and my 2012 goals are super important to me. I am going to be in Boston in 2013 no matter what it takes. But I am human and humans get injured if they are stupid and don’t listen to their bodies. I need to focus on the bigger picture and not be an idiot.
- I could run the half instead and put less damage on my body while still enjoying the weekend so much. Maybe even set a a new half PR and certainly a course PR (I did the Richmond half two years ago in just over 2 hours. I know I can blow that out of the water in a sick way. That would be fun.) Or, I could run the second half of the full with my sister and buddies and that would be majorly fun, too.
- I am not planning to go after my BQ at this race. If I run it, I am running it for fun. Why is this in the “not to run” column? Well, because a marathon even if it isn’t your hardest effort or best finishing time, is a lot of toll on your body. If I am not going after this BQ/PR at this race and I come out of it feeling beat up or worse, injured, I could risk not being on top of my game for training for my spring marathon. This is a serious consideration for me.
- My husband really feels strongly that I should run the half. He supports me in whatever I decide, but from where he stands he thinks it is a lot on my body and also he reminded me that if I run the half that means we get more time together with one kid instead of three. And that is sweet. Definitely something to think about.
Ok … that is all I can come up with for now. Some of these items weigh heavier in my mind than others. I am going to let it all marinate and then we’ll see what I cook up when it’s decision time. I do feel really good knowing that, no matter what it, is going to be an awesome weekend. I love running races and cannot wait to experience Richmond 2012!
So, can you guys come up with any pros or cons that I haven’t thought of? How do you make big decisions? Are you a list person too?
