To Rock it or Roll With It

Sunday is the San Antonio Rock & Roll Marathon. Yes, I am running a marathon the week before my first 50-miler. This should actually surprise no one.

This week, I've been asked the million dollar question: Are you going to race San Antonio, or just run it for fun? How often do I run a race, but don’t “race” a race? Pretty much never. Ever. I tried running a race for fun with Dan once, and it ended badly. It was a Thanksgiving morning race, and I ended up screaming at him as he got passed by a very pregnant woman at Mile 4. At that point the fun went out the window for both of us.

Running a race for fun be a breeze if my competitiveness didn’t get in my way. It’s extremely hard for me to run a race knowing it’s just for fun and not giving it all I've got. I can hold back in training, but strap a timing chip on me and throw me at a starting line with a bunch of other people, and it's blast off for me. I feel like I must give 110% every.single.time.

I feel like I've got a good marathon in me right now. I told myself if the weather was going to be nice on Sunday, then I'd really race it and see what I could do. But, it's Texas in November and so as usual for San Antonio, the weather is going to be pretty craptastic - 85 degrees with high humidity. Bad weather should be the perfect excuse to take it easy. But then I got to thinking...maybe the crappy weather will play to my advantage. I just ran a marathon in that type of weather, I train in that weather, I should be used to that type of weather...so my pea brain got the thinking, if I race it, I may have a shot at a good overall finish. Just maybe. I won't PR, but I've been putting in the miles, and I think that may play to my advantage and I might be able hang on longer and squeak out an age group placement (last year I won my age group so to be honest I feel the need to defend my title).

Anyway, I keep telling myself my approach to this race will be a 'game day decision'. If I'm honest with myself, I will probably race it. That's what I do. That's what I'm used to doing. I'll recover and move on to the next one.

On another note, pictures from the Run for the Water 10 miler were finally posted on-line. I found one that is actually half decent. Do I like it enough to buy it? No. But, it's one of the few that doesn't make me cringe.

Happy Weekend!