Before I fractured my rib, I was asked a lot which fall marathon I'm training for. My response was the same each time "none." My goal race for the fall was the Asbury Park Marathon Relay. Allen and I were each going to run 13.1 miles. Allen's plan was to use the race as a tune up for the New York City Marathon a few weeks later. My plan was to run the distance all out and knock my PR of 1:53:19 out of the park.
So here's the deal...I observe the Jewish holidays pretty strictly. I don't drive, use the TV, the phone, or run on the Sabbath or holidays. The Jewish holiday "season" began last weekend with Rosh Hashana, and will end on the weekend of October 10 and 11 with Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. All of this means that there are 3 definite weekends where I cannot get a long run in. The only available Sunday is this coming Sunday, September 27. While there are no prohibitions against running on Yom Kippur eve, it's probably not the best idea to go out and run 20 miles and then later in the day start 25 hours of fasting. If I were training for a fall marathon, these 3 - 4 weekends would be the peak of training. It's hard to lose that many consecutive Sundays and still be in decent marathon shape. Not running on those weekends would also have weighed on my mind during the holidays. With the exception of Yom Kippur, the other holidays are joyous days. I look forward to spending theses days with family and friends. Not getting the long runs in would weigh on my mind and would detract from my enjoyment of the holidays. I also don't have a flexible work schedule where I would be able to get a long run in during the week. My only day to run long is Sunday.
I might have been able to get myself into shape for Philly on November 22 but my neighbor's son is getting married that day and we need to be at the wedding.
I'll write about how my injury changes my fall running plans in a future post.
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