Let me make this super clear in the first sentence that the 52 half marathons in 52 weeks is still on like Donkey Kong. For sure. Nothing will keep me from that.
But if you take a look at the schedule, you’ll see that there are a number of weekends where I double up, and some where there are no races.
When I started this challenge, it sort of stemmed from a friend/co-worker saying that he thought it was pretty neat that I was doing a race every week (back when I was starting out with 5ks/10ks), and that I should try to keep it up for a year, or something like that.
That was a great idea that grew into 52 half marathons in 52 weeks – which I’ve always phrased that way because I knew that the schedule would not work out perfectly to have one a weekend for the year – especially if I wanted to run a bunch of various series and things that all had to fit together like a puzzle.
I kept an underlying fight going to do some kind of running event every weekend – a 5k, a relay, anything.
I adore running. I could never say enough about how much it adds to my life. And I love running events. Meeting new people is awesomely fun. Wearing medals is sweet. But sometimes, I want to sleep. Or I want to try a new adventure. Or I want to just. be. on. a treadmill. (I love treadmills.)
From a practical standpoint, 52 half marathons in 52 weeks is expensive. I’ve had some help here and there from amazingly kind strangers, blog readers, and friends. A few sweet race directors have given me steeply discounted or free race entries. I appreciate all of it a ton. All of it helps. Nonetheless, it’s still quite expensive.
I think I have 10-ish weekends that don’t have races. Ten 5k entry fees would add up – and I’d have to get to those races somehow. (Some are easier/cheaper to get to than others.) So, I am making the practical decision to keep on going with the goal that you are following. (Thank you, by the way.) But I’m dropping the little extra side thing that you may or may not have even noticed I was trying to keep going as well.
When I began doing 5ks and 10ks every weekend it was to make sure that I kept running. I could not let myself give up (as I kept doing in 2010/2011 every time I thought it was taking too long to get back into running shape).
Thankfully, at this point, it’s hard not to run. I’m still not fast (faster, though) or in awesome shape (awesome-er shape, though). Running has become a large part of my life again. I’m not worried that skipping out on racing on some weekends will do anything bad. I jumped on the treadmill and was thankful that I got a day away from the hot, hot sun.
Josh (from the Grand Canyon) came into town this weekend. He’s getting more fit by the minute! He lives and works at the Grand Canyon for goodness sakes. We worked out together while he was here, and I could barely keep up! So, I am tired. And I desperately want to enjoy a weekend here and there without a race.
Therefore, that’s exactly what I’ll do.
I hope this post didn’t come off as chock full of excuses. I believe in setting the bar high for myself and keeping goals.
I also believe in adapting, and not chaining myself to something that I’m unhappy doing just because at one point I said that that was what I was deciding to do.
I’ve seen too many examples of people feeling miserable over things they force themselves to do down to the letter, only because at some point they said that’s how they’d do them. It’s a great lesson I’m thankful to have seen. And I’m gonna to try to learn from it. Things change. Adapting is important.
In conclusion:
Running = Amazing, makes me ecstatic!
52 half marathons in 52 weeks = So stoked about it. Having a blast.
Limitless possibilities for weekends that don’t include half marathons: I’m joyous and free!