Thoughts about scratching from a race

From time to time, we all go through injuries which cause us to think about scratching from a race. Today, I finally had to admit to myself that I am thinking about scratching from OBX. I was out running this morning and I just felt like I was dragging my right leg along.

OBX is just a little over 4 weeks away. What really makes me think in 4 weeks that I am going to be able to run a marathon?

How demoralized does one have to be to finally admit there is a problem?

Has my hamstring improved? Yes. Can I run a 5k on it reasonably well? Yes.

Can I run a marathon on it? Today, my answer would be no. We all know that a marathon taxes the muscles to the extreme. Taxing a muscle that is not working properly is going to show up sooner in the race and hurt even more.

In a 5k maybe in a 10k, you can push aside the discomfort for a while, but in a marathon, it is highly unlikely.

Wednesday morning Megan and I were just warming for our workout. The pace wasn't hard, but my hamstring was already starting balk. By the time we hit the track to start the workout, I was already struggling.

I don't want to scratch but I don't want go out there and struggle all the way to the finish.

Maybe I should scratch?

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner