OOOOOOOOOOOOOKLAHOMA where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains...

The bad news:
I have pulled out of running the Houston Marathon.

Here is my justification to those of you (read: Deetschei), who are grumbling and disappointed:

1. 12 weeks to train for my very first marathon was just a silly and painful idea - no rest weeks leading up to the big day, no rest weeks from my 12 mi. run to my 20 mi. run, no rest week in between back-to-back 20 mi. runs, ... etc.
2. I waited way too long to buy a bib. The bib-exchange is ridiculous. People are selling bibs starting at $100 and then the organization tacks on another $40 exchange fee. I like running, but I do not like it enough to pay a minimum of $140 in order to punish my body. I can do that for free!
3. The job market put me behind on my training and I pushed myself too hard to catch back up and have developed some knee issues (see various previous posts about 2 ACL surgeries, 1 meniscus repair, and 1 meniscus removal).

Ok, now that I have put you in your places and defended my decision...

I have good news:
I will be running the Oklahoma City Marathon on April 27th. The even better news is that Ginifer and my as-of-yet-unmentioned-sister (who I will let come up with her own drunkrunner name), will be running the half-marathon!!!! Woohoo!!!! This will be the first time any of us have run these distances and run them competitively. While I am trying to stay a Positive Polly, my only concern is Oklahoma in late-April. It could either be freakin' cold (which I actually wouldn't mind) or it could be freakin' sticky and hot (which I mind greatly). But I shan't think about that now. Gotta keep my eye on the prize.

I took the last two weeks relatively easy, because I still have not recovered entirely from my 14 miler - which kind of scares me... However, I ran just over 9 miles yesterday at a 9:22 pace, so I couldn't have broken myself too badly. But the knee pains persist, and I have developed an unpleasant stabbing pain* in my calf/ankle. It might be time to really invest in a good, expensive pair of shoes. I think I might have come to learn finally what all this IT band hooha is about, unfortunately. I went for a run the other day, stopped to catch my breath and when I tried running again, I had this sharp stabbing pain* run down the side of my leg from my hip to my knee. Hmmmm. Not pleasant. When I tried putting my foot down to move forward and put weight on it, my leg felt like it was going to buckle. Scary. But that was the other day and I didn't have the same problem yesterday, so hopefully it was just a fluke.

Anyshmoo. I am going to do some "fun runs," as Sixpack would call them, and try to work in a few longer runs (12 & 14) for the next couple of weeks, before my training plan for the OKC marathon begins.

Ho ho ho. I wish you all a happy holiday and hope that your stockings are stuffed with lots of fun running gear. I, too, have loaded the list with new running apparel as well as a request for weights and a weight bench. Soon I will be stealing back my skinny runner's legs from Sixpack!

Deetschei!!! When is your race? Good luck to you and Sevey!!!! Be sure to drink lots of beer at the finish line (as if I needed to tell you!)

* Has anyone noticed how we repeatedly use the term "stabbing" to refer to certain running pains? I, personally, have never been stabbed and hope never to be stabbed, so I am not sure if "stabbing pain" can accurately describe what I am feeling. I suppose a more apt description would be "it feels like I *imagine* it might feel, if someone took a big rusty, semi-dull knife and stabbed it repeatedly into my leg." I wonder how a doctor would respond, if I went into his office and described my pain in such vivid terms... Might have to try that out for kicks. ;)