In one moment I was zooming through Week 7 of training for the Marine Corps Marathon completing a 14-mile run, and then within a couple of days, testing positive for Covid.
After three and half years of avoiding it, I was exposed by someone who thought the sore throat they were experiencing was the beginning of a summer cold. Of course, I had my suspicions. Because when it comes to colds, I never rely on having a sore throat as a symptom because there have been times I wasn’t given any warning a cold was coming on. I’d wake up one day and hello, there it was.
After the first few days of being exposed, I felt fine and thought perhaps I was in the clear, but on the evening of Sunday, August 13th my body felt a bit “off.” That night I took a home test and after 15 minutes I could see the faintest purple line show. It was so faint I practically needed a microscope to see it.
The following day I decided to take a PCR test but it was only going to confirm what I already knew because that morning my body felt like I had tumbled down a mountain for 50 miles with a fever of 102.2F.
Hey Universe, I said I wanted to see the ERAS Tour, not get the Eris variant. There is a HUGE difference!
My body got kicked into a different kind of training mode focused on rest and recovery and when I was ready to hop back into the training again, I eased in slowly. However, I noticed there was a shift in how I felt.
Running has never been easy for me but even as I simply walked, my heart rate would jump up and breathing felt more labored and difficult.
Every mile was a struggle but I pushed through. As the weeks passed and I got through September, my training felt stalled and I didn’t feel I was improving much. Progress was being made but it was slow. I felt discouraged and mentally I was zapped.
With the marathon 4 weeks away, I decided to drop down to the 10K.
On one hand, I was disappointed and upset because I’d heard such amazing things about the Marine Corps Marathon and wanted to finally experience it. I say finally because after looking at some old journals of mine I first mentioned possibly doing the Marine Corps Marathon way back in 2001! Okay, so it took me 22 years to sign up.
On the other hand, I could see the bright side knowing I can still participate in a much shorter capacity and enjoy it.
Isn’t enjoyment why we do marathons? Enjoyment is certainly one of my main reasons and I knew deep in my heart I wouldn’t enjoy the race as much as I would’ve liked. Every step I would be in my head and that would take me out of the experience altogether.
Seeing as the weather forecast this Sunday shows warmer than average temperatures for the race, I’m feeling much better about my decision to drop distance.
While I continue putting in the effort and miles, I’ve noticed another shift. My endurance is improving. It’s not where it once was but it’s slowly getting there.
That’s why it’s not about the 26.2 miles I didn’t do. It’s about the miles I am doing and continue to do because that is what matters. That is what I will be celebrating!
Thank you for reading.