Why….or Why Not?

I feel like I am on one of those vacations that ended up being about 1 or 2 days too long.  That usually happens with a ski trip or a trip to the beach (for me, not Christine).  Months in advance, you lay out the calendar and look at all the options.  Well, if we leave on Thursday we can ski on Friday and get another day on the slopes.  And if we come back on Monday, we will have less traffic and we can lay on the beach and tan (i.e. burn) before we head back.  This will be awesome!  Instead of a 6 or 7 day vacation, we can stretch it to 10 or 11!  Woo-hoo!

Then you get there, and it is everything you had dreamed of.  During the first few days you think to yourself that you have plenty of time left to do everything you want.  But as the days march on, you start to feel the burning in your quads from skiing or the impossibility of getting all the sand from random crevices.  And then you are ready for it to all be over and done with.  All you want is your own shower and your own bed.

That is how Christine & I feel about the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans.  Our “vacation” has lasted way too long.  For me it went from a marathon to a 50 mile run to a half Ironman to another marathon (with the added thrill of trying to qualify for Boston).  I am ready to get the sand out my butt and have a restful weekend.  But that is not going to happen.  Instead, I will have to keep up with the 20 mile runs (and the exhaustion that comes with them.)  I will have to continue with life being planned around the long workouts.  For at least 4 more weeks, this vacation will go on.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I like working out.  And so does Christine.  We are just desperately in need of some free form training with no rhyme or reason as opposed to the structure of the last 15 or 16 months.

So why am I doing this race?  That is a good question.  For now, I will stick with the only answer I can safely come up with…….why not?

Enter your comment here

Your description paints a picture of being mentally drained due to the physical drain of all the racing. Your why as to continue probably relates to many motivational factors that should be at least self identified by you. In doing so, you can identify the degree of mental, but most importantly, physical agony you may be putting your self through if continue the drawn out destruction on your body and mind.

Therefore, your whys had better far outweigh your why nots if you are to at all respect yourself.

In no way do I mean to be confrontational with this post rather; I care for your body’s well being if no one else will. Meaning, the answer to your question of “why not” is…because your body is still adapting to the stresses previously imposed.

You deserve free form training. I would argue you deserve it more so in between the exhaustive bouts of racing to allow full recovery, optimal performance, and the most positive mental attitude during the performance. This seems in opposition to the current “all-or-nothing’ mindset you currently are taking which seems to be wreaking havoc on your mind, and less concisely, your body.

I reiterate why not…because the freedom to leave your vacation early will make the next one that much better!

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January 29th, 2010

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