Well, here we are, almost at the end of May. And I should be happily enjoying some tapering this week, the last preparation for the San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon this Sunday. And the marathon will happen for sure! But it will happen without yours truly!
“What happened”, you ask? “You are usually not a quitter”, you say!
Nothing really happened. And I do not have an injury that would have given me a valid excuse. It is quite simple, really: I got tired!
The last week of April I started working on what should have been a short and easy little campaign for the Clean Energy and Security Act. Turns out our local Congresswoman, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (Bono, as in Sonny Bono’s widow. Sonny, as in Cher’s ex husband, former mayor of Palm Springs, and late Congressman) serves on the Committee for Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives. When we started the campaign it was rumored that Mary sat on the fence regarding this bill and our goal was to convince her to vote in favor of it. Originally the subcommittee vote was supposed to happen in early May but Republicans tried to stall the process numerous times (shocking, I know!) and I ended up working on this for four weeks.
Four weeks of working late into the night and getting up at dawn in order to get me runs in. Four weeks of spending most days on my feet for hours on end collecting petitions from Mary Bono Mack’s constituents in support of the bill. And when I was not out and about in 100 degree heat I could be found hunched over at my desk getting all the data entered into a database. If you know me you know how much I love getting involved in something I believe in and trying my best to make a difference, but this came truly at a very inopportune time, leading up to the last month of training for San Diego. At first I thought I could do it all, just by getting up earlier and I even finished all of my long runs, including the last 20 miler.
Then I went to Santa Barbara for the weekend after the Jesusita Fire had almost burned the entire town to the ground. As always I had a wonderful time staying with one of my best friends, visiting my former co workers, dining at Arigato, eating Pinkberry deliciousness and spending a day in Santa Ynez Valley. The rest of the time? I fell into a sleep induced coma! I literally could not wake up. I had been looking forward to running with my former buddies on Saturday morning but slept right through the alarm, which in turn set off alarm bells in my head, and for the first time the thought “I might not be as ready as I think” slowly crept into my consciousness. Finding out that none of my friends would be there with me at the start and finish line also did not help. After a couple of additional days filled with contemplation and deep thought I finally came to the conclusion that the last four weeks had been a bit rough on me and that I was probably not in the best of shape to run this marathon at the end of the month.
This is completely unchartered territory for me as I have never done this before. Quit half way through training, let alone at the very end of 16 weeks of training. Heck, I have never quit at all once I committed to a marathon. I have heard of others who have done it but that was never me. And here I am. I am still a bit torn about the whole thing even though I know I made the right decision. There will always be another race, another marathon and I do have to admit that a huge weight fell off my shoulders once I made the decision to give San Diego a miss.
As for the campaign I worked on. Well, it did finally come to an end last week when the subcommittee voted on it late Thursday. Mary Bono Mack listened to the majority of her constituents and voted in favor of the Clean Energy and Security Act. She was the only Republican who broke with party line and voted for it!!! Our hard work paid off and missing a marathon is really a small price to pay considering what we accomplished.
And so instead of tapering, carb loading, and überhydrating this week, I can just keep on running. And that I love!!!
Today’s Running Tip: Don’t skimp on sleep!
Sleep is an important component of your marathon training and needs to be taken seriously. This is especially true the closer you get to race day. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, but 9 or 10 hours won’t hurt you. If your schedule allows, take afternoon naps as well. Take it from Deena Kastor who sleeps 8-10 hours a night and 1-3 hours every afternoon.
