I just canceled my entry into the NYC Marathon 2013.
This is the first time I’ve canceled a marathon. I was a couple weeks behind in official training, and the training I’ve done thus far has been minimal. My extremely busy work schedule was the biggest reason why I wasn’t able to train. I’ve been working since May about 5 to nearly 7 days a week. Getting up regularly before 5am, 4am, even once before 3am and working long, unpredictable hours on different productions led to tiredness and left me unmotivated to get out for runs, even when I had the time to do so. I’d lost most of my fitness since my 3:38 Boston Marathon in Spring 2013, so I was training from the beginning and the mountain of training ahead of me in light of lots of unpredictable work seemed insurmountable.
I realized that not-training for the marathon would mean I wouldn’t feel the building psychic pressure to get in greater and greater miles of running during the week, especially during a very hot NYC summer. I would be saner, happier, and likely healthier without marathon training. If I canceled the marathon, I could still run, but I wouldn’t be trying to achieve an ambitious goal in an unforgiving schedule that rarely concedes to the time and energy demands of marathon training.
I had been trying to take some time off from work this week to reset my health a bit, but I ended up working five days this week in high-paying jobs that were not in my interests to refuse. It was in this period that I got the idea to cancel the marathon as a step to get healthier. Immediately it felt like a good decision. I’d have to eat about $225, but I’d get guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon 2014 should I want to do it.
I gave the decision a few days, and moments ago I canceled the marathon for this year.
Fortunately I waited to sign up for the Philly and Atlantic City Marathons. I was tempted to run both of them this year. But before signing up for either, I remembered from last year when I ran these two marathons with the NYC Replacement Marathon between them — all in four weeks’ time — that I was really irritable when it came to doing all three, and that there were real expenses when it came to choosing to do so. Also concerned I might end up injured training this year, I held back on signing up for these other marathons. And it’s a good thing I didn’t, now that I know I won’t be doing NYC or any other marathon.
My next steps are to see how I bring a different kind of fitness back to my life. I’m looking at bringing a new balance in my life if I can.