I have to admit it, my faith in Hal Higdon is shaken. Or stirred. I don’t know which for sure, but either way I am not really heartened by the recent runs. Several months ago, 12 miles would have been plenty long, but as this week’s “long” run it felt really really long. Longer than the previous week’s 22. It makes me wonder if, like teen sensation Tiffany or Finn on Glee, I have peaked too soon.
You may recall that two weeks ago I felt invincible. Or at least not so vincible that I could not handle the 26.2. True, my Sweet Lady has been down with the flu and now pneumonia for almost two full weeks (yes, she has seen a doctor. Three, actually.) Also, I have been pretty much solos when it comes to making Tallulah take a bath, etc. That will definitely wear a brother out. There are probably a million little tears in muscles that are healing themselves right about now. Plus I need a haircut and new shoes. Yes, I have that much hair which is that thick.
So, all of those things combine, plus I did something really dumb. I looked at the course map. One could argue that anyone foolish enough to run a marathon has no business looking at a course map or thinking that said map will give him any useful insight into the experience. Fair enough, but I just thought … oh ,,, nevermind. The point is that the elevation gain in the Monkey is twice the gain on my training route. I live in the friggin’ mountains. I’m supposed to be the badass when it comes to training on hills. So much for that friggin’ theory.
Maybe I’ll get the flu.