It started well. I ran the Albany Georgia Marathon and qualified for the Boston Marathon with over 10 minutes to spare.
With that business taken care of, I turned my attention to my quest to run trails in all 48 contiguous states with the Super Dog, Cole.
2 major and 2 shorter trips, logging 12,600 driven miles, we completed our 34th state in November.
After the Albany Marathon, I ran the Honest Abe trail Marathon, in Indiana, with Cole.
I ran the North Face Challenge Trail Marathon in Georgia the next month.
Cole and I ran our first ultra in Utah, the 50k Goblin Valley Trail Race.
All this fun, in spite of truly annoying injuries:
Eagle talon heel spur.
Stress fracture. Fun stuff.
Tendonitis in both elbows.
Bursitis to add to the misery in dominant arm's elbow. Swelled up like a lunch lady's arm!
But, Cole's torn ACL and subsequent surgery took the prize.
The year is not closing on a positive note running wise. In every other aspect, it's been stellar.
My training for the Boston Marathon was to have started in earnest in December. After a week of running on streets again, instead of on trails, my foot that had the stress fracture a few months ago aches without reprieve. Discouraged by the pain and the solitude of running without Cole, I virtually quit running. My new hobby consists of gourmet eating, not conducive to maintaining a marathoner's figure.
On Christmas Day, my Dad confronted me. Why wasn't I running? 43 excuses later, he helped me pin down the problem to the upcoming Boston Marathon.
I had paid my $185 entry fee, reserved my (cheapest) $600/ 2 nights motel room. Cole and I were going... going to do something I really didn't ever want to do, but felt compelled to achieve. This 26.2 miles is the golden chalice to runners, a sign to others that you are faster than 90 % of other runners out there. But...
I hate crowds.
I avoid big cities.
I love Nature.
I seek solitude.
Duh, Jamie.
Instead of permanently ending my 2014 running season by continuing to sabotage my training with poor excuses and King size servings of pesto pasta, I've made a U-turn to head back to my roots: trails.
I'm cancelling my plans to run the Boston in April. In lieu, I'm signed up for the 50 mile Peaks Race in Vermont in May. 12,000 feet of elevation change compared to Boston's 450 ft, double the distance, on single track trails, pack your own water, no Portaletties, no fancy aid stations every 2 miles, no cheering crowds (thank God). Yeah, I'm at peace with this decision.
2014, here I come.
The road to Hell is paved....run trails.
