Or a little bit more than halfway there ...
It's a good thing I didn't get this thing posted 9 weeks into training, because it would have been a whole lot more negative.
When I get halfway through a marathon training cycle, I like to look around, see where I've been, and assess where I am.
This cycle is far different from any other marathon training cycle. Being injured and not running for 5 months meant that I just couldn't pick up where I left off. My speed and endurance are pretty much nonexistent. My average pace is about 45 seconds per mile slower than where I was a year ago. My average weekly mileage is significantly lower. I am not doing speedwork of any kind. I have to be really careful about the foot that wasn't injured so that I don't injure myself again. There are days when I am not sure that I am going to make it to Boston.
A year ago, I was running my fastest times ever. I already had stellar 19- and 20-mile runs under my belt. I trained farther and faster and it was paying off. I smashed my marathon PR in a near-perfect marathon at Shamrock, ran an incredibly similar time at the Gansett Marathon 4 weeks later, AND set a 5K PR on a decently challenging course.
I am no longer that runner.
I had a goal. Qualify for Boston. Well, I did that. Twice. What happens after that?
You have to be really really really motivated to train for and run a marathon. I think I lost a lot of the motivation to run a marathon after I wasn't coming back from being injured.
I am not at the same place I was a year ago. And not just in running. I have a job and a house and a new place to explore. Training for a marathon just isn't high on the list of priorities right now.
Having said all of that, I need to stop comparing myself now to myself then. I can't put in the mileage volume I would like to, but I will do the best I can. I am beginning to see the value of running for fun. As long as I stay uninjured, I will find a way to cross the finish line in Boston. Hello, motivation?
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