The SunTrust National Marathon is less than two months away and I still don’t know if I am going to do it.  Why you ask?  You see, the marathon is on a Saturday which means I need to miss work on Friday and fly out that morning.  Also, that Friday is the last day before Spring Break and I am technically not supposed to be off before or after Spring Break.  So, I wrote a letter back in October to the Superintendent asking for “permission” to be off on Friday.  I did not get a response so I sent it again in December.  Still no answer.  Really?  How long does it take to make a decision?  It is a simple answer “yes” or “no”.  So frustrating.

I believe that things happen for a reason.  Yes, I am a true believer of that even though many times I don’t like the things that happen.  I got a late start to my marathon training.  I am cramming an 18 week training program into 12 weeks.  I have had to increase mileage and I think I am paying for it.  The last week or so I have had a pain on my right hip.  Now I feel the pain extending to the inner thigh down to the inside part of the knee.  Yesterday I had to run 11 miles but could only do 4.  I wanted to keep on going but was feeling the pain and did not want to make it worse.  So, I asked myself Is this a sign?  Should I skip the marathon in March and instead take my time and do one in May?  Or is it just an unfortunate injury?

Any idea on what kind of injury it might be?  My guess is Iliotibial Band Syndrome but need to see a doctor to be sure.  I am a member of Athletico so I will start there and them do an injury screen.  Well, with this pain it means that I cannot run.  🙁  This makes me sad because I enjoy running and look forward to it.  However, being injury free is much more important. 

That is what I kept telling myself today during my long run.  I had to do an 11 mile run and at some point was running faster than usual.  I knew I could have but knew that I shouldn’t especially when it is cold and windy outside.  However, glad to say that it was a little bit warmer than last week.  🙂  Bottom line, it is difficult to run outside during the winter.  I am running again tomorrow.  I guess maybe I could get used to this.

I decided to run the Hartford Marathon this year.  Yep, no more Chicago Marathon and the crazy weather.  I had signed up for the Hartford Marathon 2 years ago but due to back problems I couldn’t do it.  Since it was on a Saturday and during the weekend before Columbus Day I had to leave on Friday and miss a teacher institute day.  Also, I am not supposed to be off the day before or after a holiday.  Well, I sure got grief about it from the superintendent.  I was told that I was not fulfilling to my obligations as a teacher and why did I have to go out of state for a marathon when there is one in Chicago?  Oh, I was so annoyed and maybe that is what contributed to the injuries.  JK.  Well, this year’s marathon is AFTER Columbus Day so I anticipate no problems from ANYONE.

I read a few blogs about the movie “Hood to Coast” and regret not watching it.  I hope either it will be shown again or available on DVD soon.  I have seen “Spirit of the Marathon” twice and got inspired each time I saw it.Well, so far have ran 42 miles and have 958 miles to go.  I KNOW I will achieve that goal. 

Oh man, I struggled today.  I could not get up at 6 this morning.  I did want to get to school by 7 so I hurried to get ready and out of the house.  I made it by around 7:05am.  There was just so much to do that I still was not ready by 8:40 when the kids came in.  I am trying to cut down on drinking coffee (well more like stopping every morning at Dunkin Donuts for a coffee) that I decided to take my own.  I took one of those iced coffee from Costco.  It is actually pretty good but definitely did not have enough caffeine.   I felt it by 10 am.  I struggled the rest of the day.  At one point I asked my students to sit down and rest for 10 minutes.  Actually, it was an excuse for me to sit down and take a break.  Did I mention that I was tired?  The rest of the day went pretty quickly and I was out of the school by 3:10 pm.  I did not want to stay any longer since I wanted to go to the gym.