"You're not taking this very seriously, Cher. Especially for someone your age". Ouch, that hurt. The last part, I mean...about my age. As of Wednedsay, July 8th, I have 50 days until my 100-mile "Run for the Wildlands" fund-raising event for Cal-IPC, and I knew Coach was right. I tend to be cavalier about my running. In the past, I'd competed in races and consistently ranked the top 5 women in my age class well into my late 30's with very little serious training or preparation.
However, I've noticed that at my age (41), my body is indeed changing. I can no longer take weeks off from running, eat like a linebacker, forego stretching, or crawl out of bed and go for a 35 mile run with little or no preparation. Nope, those days are over. In late April, the high winds and hills of the Big Sur Marathon made the event feel like a 50-miler. I barely made the 4-hour mark, and it was demoralizing. I've concluded that my best race days are over, and unlike Lance Armstrong, I'm not making a huge come-back at my age.
My longest run to date is 50 miles. The 100-miler will be my running swan song - and when I accomplish this goal, I'll hang up my racing flats...for a while, at least. In the meantime, I have a lot of physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional preparation to do. Coach is right... I haven't been taking this very seriously. And as soon as I finish off my pint of chocolate peanut butter, I'm turning over a new (training) leaf.
Anton LaVey (1930-1997) said, "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful". I'm quite certain that I'll demonstrate that, on the contrary, stupidity can be not only painful but chronically debilitating.
However, I've noticed that at my age (41), my body is indeed changing. I can no longer take weeks off from running, eat like a linebacker, forego stretching, or crawl out of bed and go for a 35 mile run with little or no preparation. Nope, those days are over. In late April, the high winds and hills of the Big Sur Marathon made the event feel like a 50-miler. I barely made the 4-hour mark, and it was demoralizing. I've concluded that my best race days are over, and unlike Lance Armstrong, I'm not making a huge come-back at my age.
My longest run to date is 50 miles. The 100-miler will be my running swan song - and when I accomplish this goal, I'll hang up my racing flats...for a while, at least. In the meantime, I have a lot of physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional preparation to do. Coach is right... I haven't been taking this very seriously. And as soon as I finish off my pint of chocolate peanut butter, I'm turning over a new (training) leaf.
Anton LaVey (1930-1997) said, "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful". I'm quite certain that I'll demonstrate that, on the contrary, stupidity can be not only painful but chronically debilitating.
I hope you'll join me on my journey.
