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#GameOnPGH: Taking a Step Back

29 Apr , 2016,
Heidi Kumm
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Okay. We’re about to let the #realtalk roll. Phew. Tomorrow afternoon I’m head to Pittsburgh for a few days of harassing Lynne…and partaking in the Pittsburgh Marathon races. Initially I had high hopes for a crazy successful marathon. When I signed up I imagined a strong training cycle with speed work, confident miles, a PR + possibly a BQ. I was optimistic, and a little delusional. And then…reality happened.

More than once [all the times?] I opted for rocky trail runs over speedy road runs every. single. time. This lead to a fair bit of “oh crap” moments as the marathon date approached. Today I officially took a step back. My bib has officially been moved from the Pittsburgh Marathon to the Pittsburgh Half Marathon.

To some, this is taking the easy way out. Heck, I was fully prepared to reign it in + suffer my way through the full marathon because it was unclear as to whether I could make the switch. I was going to strap on a UD pack full of snacks + trudge my way through the streets of Pittsburgh with a goofy grin on my face. I was going to make it happen, but it was going to hurt + it was going to put a damper on my mountain climbing plans in Mexico.

But today my bib officially got changed over to the half marathon, thanks to Lynne‘s trip to the PGH race expo this morning. Phew. Triple phew. Now, rather than struggling through a 26.2 mile race I am extremely ill prepared for I can chatter along the 13.1 mile course as Lynne seriously regrets the tag-a-long runner she just snagged herself!

It’s not at all the race I thought I had signed up for but I can’t say that I regret the change in training plans or race day plans. I could not be happier and I absolutely refuse to regret runs that involve this kind of crazy…

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…bouts of crazy that happened in the same state within just a few days of each other. Gotta love the Colorado weather!

All in all, I’m really excited to spend 2 hours running through Lynne’s new city, catching up on all the life stories we’ve been missing out since she left Colorado. I’m also very, very aware of the fact a marathon just isn’t my thing, at least right now. As I fought with the decision to drop down to the half [a possibility I’ve been toying with for weeks] I kept thinking back to how much I hated running during the Steamboat Marathon last spring. It was a beautiful course, the people were amazing, the weekend was fantastic…but the act of running 26.2 miles was terrible. I don’t want that again, so I’m writing off road marathons until further notice. With big ultras on deck I think that’s a statement I can stand by for quite some time. Hopefully.

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