Probably Gonna Regret This ...

Mile 5 (I think) at the 2014 Garmin Half Marathon

I've only ran one "Redemption Race" in my life.  Ya know ... one of those races you run in close proximity to another where you lay a big giant egg ... sure that the poor result just had to be a fluke!  Mine was a couple of years ago, a week after I bombed at the Rock The Parkway Half Marathon.  I ran a 1:33:02, and was so frustrated and disappointed that I signed up for a the Garmin Half Marathon the following weekend ... absolutely sure I could run a much better time.  I ran a 1:32:08.  About a minute faster, but nowhere near where I thought I would be.

My redemption race taught me a couple of things.  Number one ... it's really tough to run full tilt races on back to back weekends.  Number two ... sometimes we're just not in as good of shape as we think we are.

So with all that in mind, I'll be attempting my second "Redemption Race" next weekend at the Running With The Cows Half Marathon.  Except this time, I'm going in with fairly realistic expectations.

I wasn't devastated or anything after the Garmin Half Marathon this year.  Like I explained in my last post, I ran a 1:29:15, finished 26th out of 2,200, with quite a few training setbacks.  I mean, that's certainly not and elite time or anything ... but I AM a grandfather of two for cryin' out loud.  And although I'm not in top shape (which is evident from my race photos where I look a little soft around the middle), to be honest, I really thought I could have been a little quicker than my finishing time indicated.  And if truth be told, I really think on a flat course like The Indy 500 Mini-Marathon course, where I set my PR a couple of years ago, I honestly think I could have been 1:27:30, or thereabouts.

So with that in mind, I decided to strap it up again next weekend.  Is it a wise choice?  Eh, probably not.  If I had to guess now, I can't imagine I'm going to best my finishing time from last weekend by THAT much, if any.  But Michael was already running the race, and the track is a little flatter than Garmin, so I decided to give it a go.  If nothing else, it will be a fun event ... which is probably the point anyway!  Hope your week is going well!
... be great today!