More on My Running Now, Then, and the Near Future

One important difference between this year and 2010 concerning my running is that, after that January 23 Ocala Marathon that I hobbled to the finish line in, I haven't entered any public races. Last year by this time I had run several races: LifeSouth Half Marathon, the Climb for Cancer 15K Run, and several 5Ks. I reached the point where I did not enjoy five kilometer (3.1 miles) races for various reasons. And longer races were few and far between. Besides, for much of the beginning of the year I was recovering from a leg injury and didn't want to aggravate it.

So now here I am in the middle of July, with no races set ahead of me to run. Sure, there's that Tom Walker Memorial Half-Marathon that is held in November and which I ran in last year (and enjoyed), but at least in the Gainesville vicinity there is nothing else longer than those annoying 5K races. I am thinking, though, about trying to get over to Apalachicola (Florida) and run in their half-marathon in late October. But I'll need to get the day before the race off from work to swing this, not yet a done deal.

I am still wary of running full marathons. Frankly, I don't see the extra benefit that running 26.2 miles carries over sticking with the 13.1 mile half-marathon distance. 13.1 miles is in itself quite a chore to carry out and requires a good deal of training. Besides, just about every marathon event I see out there has an accompanying half-marathon, usually with the same starting times (and less expensive entry fees). Also, there are several half-marathon races without accompanying marathons, that Tom Walker Memorial event a good example.

So maybe now that I seem to be injury-free, I might just sit down at my computer and check out the upcoming cooler months for opportunities to participate in half-marathons. Of course, money doesn't grow on trees (at least for me) and I probably won't be hopping on any planes soon for distant events. But any place in the southeastern U.S. holding a half-marathon should be fair game...as long as I can get time off from work, that is. And December, due to the nature of my job, is problematic in that although it has a great selection of races in my area, I am also very, very busy then at my job with slim prospects of getting extra time off.