I’m right there with you on this one. I really, really liked running the marathons but all the other stuff that went along with running one were just more than I wanted to deal with.
Running as my primary form of exercise affords me the ability to do it almost anywhere and almost anytime. It is also more efficient at burning calories than biking or even swimming, at least for me. If I go on vacation or take a trip I can still get in a run and not have to worry about finding a gym or pool or having to haul a bike. Also, as you said, it can be done relatively cheaply.
So, this seems like the best place to mention that the first of my two half marathons was today. It was 38 degrees and raining and windy. I was miserable.
My time was not as good as the last time I ran this race, but I have to think the awful conditions had something to do with it. Then, to add insult to injury, the kids at the bag check couldn’t find my bag (which contained my dry clothes) and I stood there freezing and shivering for 20 minutes until they found it.
3 weeks from yesterday, in Outer Banks. I’m going to repeat the last 3 weeks of my HM training and maybe go for a PR there.
And, yeah, despite the many times I’ve gone back and forth on it, I’ve started thinking about full marathons again. I’ve actually registered for one twice, and both times got injured when my training runs hit 16-18 miles—I think the key is not to register until the last minute.
Just looked up the results and my old running buddy finished it in 3:57 and change. He’d been unable to get under 4 his last few tries and - at 48 - I was wondering if he would be able to again or whether he would need to reset his goals. Glad to hear he is alive!
As for the question about why slow runners do it… I’m a very slow runner. I think I ran Chicago in 6:05 or something like that back in 2003. Before that, my personal record was the Inaugural Country Music Marathon in Nashville in 2001, which I think I did in just over 5 hours. All in all, I’ve done three marathons (also did the Louis & Clark, which was incredibly boring). I’d like to run another marathon or two, but don’t see it happening until after my kids are a bit older.
I ran those marathons because the training gave me an opportunity to hang out for long periods with friends I didn’t get to see often (you can do a lot of talking during a three-hour training run); I’ve never been a good speed runner, but I can go for hours and hours and wanted to prove it to myself; and marathons are a really fun spectacle, especially the Chicago and Country Music marathons. I mean, hell, it’s a 26.2 mile-long street fair. And if you run it, you get to see every single part of it. Plus, you don’t see people dangling off overpasses and cheering you on for six long hours every day.
