I've been unofficially "injured" (as in diagnosed only by myself with a stress fracture) ever since the Mount Lemmon Marathon, and am therefore restricted to biking and swimming only. Even those activities are questionable since my injury continues to hurt even with a month off of running. Normally this would not bother me, except for the fact that I miss running with WOG people and it's a lot harder to burn calories in every other sport than it is to burn calories running, but always in the distant but ever-nearer future looms Boston.
I have already spent $130 on the entry fee, which is non-refundable, but the idea of losing that doesn't bother me much. What bothers me is the possibility of not being able to do Boston at all. It could happen. Heck, I was registered for the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon on November 14th and had to pass because of this injury; how do I know that won't happen with Boston?
Of course I could always requalify -- even if they lower the qualifying times I could probably still requalify -- but the thing is no one ever knows how long they will be able to run. (Run fast or run at all.) I could get some permanent injury, or lose my job and not be able to afford marathons anymore, or even get pregnant and fat, you never know! Then the Boston Marathon would just be one of those things that I had the chance to do but passed on. (Like going to U of A law school on a full scholarship AND a stipend -- yup, had the chance to do that, and didn't. And yes that probably will always bug me.)
So the time to do Boston is now, if my stupid injury will just go away. My plan is to start running again either December 1 (if there is no pain) or December 18 if it still hurts on December 1. I figure four months is the minimum window of time I need to train for Boston. One month of getting my mileage up slowly, two of hard training, one of tapering. (Though "hard" training for me, since I discovered triathlon, has been 35 miles a week -- all that was necessary to shatter my PR and Boston qualify. I'm never going back to that 60-miles-a-week garbage, never ever!)
No matter what happens, I am not buying a plane ticket to Boston until a couple weeks before the marathon to ensure I am still injury-free.
I have been absent the past couple of weeks because I am engrossed in novel-writing (it's National Novel Writing Month -- NaNoWriMo -- didn't you know?) and also because there has not been much to report. I swim. I ride. I attend Awesome Abs class occasionally. I bought a used road bike that I don't have to wear bike shoes with and that isn't worth much so I can leave it outside. My thighs are getting rock-hard like cyclist thighs should be again. I still stink at swimming. That brings us up to right now.
