A Lesson in Ego

Three weeks from tomorrow is the Long Branch Half Marathon.  Over the past year, because of injuries, I've missed race after race, including the Spring Lake Five, the Belmar Five Mile Run, the Atlantic City Half Marathon, the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, and the Allstate 13.1 Marathon (whew!).

I've recovered well enough now that I'm on track with my training to actually do the Long Branch Half Marathon.  But, by "do" I mean "walk."

Walk.

If I am to complete the Long Branch Half Marathon in one piece, and injury-free, I will have to walk all 13.1 miles of it.  Not run a single step.

I should be ecstatic that at this point I'm walking and that I'm no longer a slave to my crutches, and my boot, and my cane, and my scooter.

But it kills me to have to walk.  I'm scheduled for a 6 mile "brisk walk" tomorrow.  When I was running, I never wanted to walk.  If I would ever walk during a run, I was not satisfied.  My goal was to run races ... all the way through, without walking.

If I am to be honest with myself, then I must say I never wanted to be "that guy" who walked during the race, or had to stop to walk.

But now I am that guy.

I'm selfish, I know.

I just don't want to look funny.  There has to be a fine line between power walking and that race-walking we see in the Olympics right?

The Long Branch Half Marathon has a time limit (chip time) of 3 hours and 15 minutes, which would be 15 minutes / mile.  The slowest pace group is 3 hrs, which is at a 13.44 pace.  That's my goal, I figure I can speed walk and try to keep up with the pace group.

I don't know.