The importance of training

In the past I related good racing experiences, but today I thought I would share a bad one. I think at my last posting I was talking about getting back to training. Well that didn't work out so well. Bussiness took priority over training and very little running took place.

I signed up for the KDF Marathon with all good intentions of being in shape for it. It did not work out that way. A friend was trying to qualify for Boston and asked if I would pace him to a 3:10. I knew I could not finish in that time in my current condition, but I agreed to set the pace and provide entertainment as long as I could.

We had a ball the first part of the race. We were on pace and having fun. Things started going poorly just after going through the downs. The person I was pacing started slowing. We tried to hold on but it did not happen. Personally I felt good until after Cherokee. I didn't hit the wall. That normally happens from nutrition issues. For me it was a gradual decline in performance and increase in discomfort.

No problem. I knew the end was not going to be pretty, so I just kept moving forward. I have been in much worse conditions with much much longer to go.

The physical pain was nothing I could not deal with. At mile 24-25 a major blow to my pride occured. I was within seeing difference of the 24 mile mark when I looked over my shoulder and saw my wife, Cynthia about 70 yards behind me. She was all smiles. I knew that there was no way I could hold her off for another 2 miles, but I have never been good at accepting the enevitable so I shifted into a higher gear. Unfortunatly I had no higher gear. The worst part about it was that Cynthia was laughing and talking to everybody around, so I could hear her getting closer, and closer. The pass occured right at the 25 mile mark. I made an empty threat, which was ignored. Cynthia just smiled and lied to me about how great I was doing.

The moral of this story is that if you think consistant training is overrated you had better not be the kind of person who cares if your wife kicks your ass.