On Friday night, I finally registered for the Hamilton Marathon: Road2Hope. Today, I almost pulled out of it.
What happened? Last week, I was feeling strong and confident. My long run on Sunday went well; there were no aches or pains in the next days. But, then, life happened and I missed two runs. While I was barely coping with this psychologically, I hit another obstacle, one that had me seriously questionning whether I should finish training for the marathon.
When the boys and I got home from Church this morning, we found Daddy lying on the bedroom floor, conscious but unable to move. Everything ended up fine and it became obvious that this was due to the combination of obviously low blood sugar and an exhausting day at work on Saturday.
Needless to say, there was no way that I was heading out for my eighteen miler this afternoon. And that is when my head started to spin and panic set in again. Should I be running in Hamilton? Can I transfer my entry to the half?
In an ideal world, I would have many more weeks to train. I could run long every other week and that would be a lot easier on me overall; I could also race shorter distances in between without worrying about missing a long run. But in that ideal world, I would be doing all of this alone, without my husband and sons. I like my non-perfect situation.
I was ready to pull out. I was so close to doing so that I had typed the race contact information in the address bar of my e-mail. But, then, I changed the recipient. Instead, I e-mailed my two running buddies and asked for their advice.
Both wrote the same thing. Don’t worry about the week, they said. You’re running well; this is just a setback or a test of your mental toughness. A facebook friend also reminded me that I have 5 more weeks of training, which means that I can still get in a few more long runs.
Tonight, at 6:00, Daddy was feeling better so I took the boys out for five miles. By the time I got home, my headache had cleared and I felt ready to tackle Hamilton. And tomorrow, after work, I am going to tackle that long run; Daddy is going to hold the fort so that I can get out for a few hours. Then, I’ll be able to move forward and the rest of the week will fall into place.
OH MAN!!!! I'm glad that everything is ok.
Good decision to hover over hubby that night. Even the strong ones fall sometimes, he is very lucky to have you there to pick him up.
I do hope the boys didn't take the experience to garner support for more sugar.
You know you're right, many people would be plenty happy to have your less-than-ideal situation of a wonderful family and a life full of unpredictable stories.
Oh my gosh, how scary! I'm so glad he is alright.
On the marathon front, your friend is right, you still have 5 weeks which is plenty of time left to train!
sorry to hear about your Hubs! Hope he's better now….you're strong, I'm sure you'll be great on these last few long runs.
Consider this just a tiny hiccup in your training – you'll of course do your marathon and be awesome!
~RR
Stick with it you will be fine at Hamilton. Glad nothing was seriously wrong with dad.
Cya on the line in Hamilton.
Wow–so glad it turned out ok! And your friends are right–one week won't hurt your marathon. You've been running really strong and you're going to have a great marathon.
Glad there was no serious problem. Good luck with your long run!
hang in there! Hope that long run goes wonderfully for you!
How scary! Glad dad is ok! You do have plenty of time so don't make any rash decisions.
So glad he is feeling better! Keep your head up! You have plenty of time!