Housekeeping Notes

Housekeeping, part 1:
If you're kind enough to be visiting from a home decor, crafts, design or organizing site, then you might feel more at home with my other blog, Struggling to be Stylish. On the other hand, if you enjoy the mutterings of a reluctant runner, be my guest and read on.

Last weekend's 8 miles passed pleasantly and without pain, so I guess this marathon is not a totally dead duck yet. I do still need to get myself out the door for this weekend's effort, but that's a small detail I'm ignoring as I sit here in comfort with laptop and mug of tea, watching Sunday afternoon tick away :)

My head is still spinning regarding a number of strands of my life, of which serious running training is just one. I'm grateful to Shelley, who last week wisely commented: "I can only focus on a few things at a time, myself... The older I get the more I realise it's no longer time vs. money, but time vs money vs energy." Well said, Shelley.

Housekeeping, part 2:
So, on the assumption I'm not ready to give up completely just yet, I've found a few draft posts from this time last year when I first started blogging about my (planned) path from 6-miler to marathon queen. For completeness, I'm going to post these during the next few days and back-date them, so if any out-of-sync ramblings appear in your blog reader or RSS feed, my apologies, and I hope you can filter them out.

Meanwhile, when I've found the answer to my knees, my career, and a paint color for my home office, I'll be back.

Photo via: AverageBro

What Was I Thinking?

I've not exactly been neglecting my training, but I haven't been totally diligent about it, either. The past few weekends have seen me working hard on some house DIY projects, and my typical Saturday habit of run~eat~sleep is not a big help in getting a bedroom finished. And while I've been doing a few knee exercises here and there, I find I'm surprisingly forgetful in sticking to the "every other day" rule.

So it's not surprising that I'm plodding on a bit of a plateau, and, with no particular progress to report, a blog posting has not come easily to mind.

Today, however, in the middle of my regular lunchtime fitness class, I found myself firmly at the back of a very mixed pack and wondering what the heck I was thinking in signing up for a marathon? I'm feeling sluggish and all my workout gear is tight. My soul mate and running buddy has switched to biking and swimming to relieve his own cantankerous knees. Recently, my "long" runs have been just 7 miles. I need to pull another 19 out of somewhere and I honestly don't know if I have it in me. Would it be so terrible just to give up quietly and settle for running in 10k events?

How do you decide when a goal is just not within your reach? Do you keep plugging away, or give up gracefully?

Image thanks: Runnerdecals.com