Talk with RM about Kansas

Rest day! Not even a bike ride!

Too bad I didn't train today, oh WOW what an amazing day of calm winds, sunshine, 70F temps...lovely!

Ran some errands (OK I drove them...), walked Sugar in FoPa, did my cookup, missed RM's CX race and instead met him for a dog walk. He's got some good arguments against running at Kansas, in fact his so far are the best ones.

DaveG, JimD, JohnC -- they know me but it's more of they know "of" me. All said this is a great race, go for it. JohnC did caution about perpetuating an injury.

TV and TH -- encouraging me to wait until spring or pick a 50M. Thing is, I want to triathlon training next spring, and I trained for a 100M not a 50M. Hahahaha, 50M sounds so easy... {kidding}

RM had arguments that others mentioned but he laid them out different. First off he said that the distraction of having family at the race (I felt sorta guilty when I left them waiting in the cold and dark) wasn't a good excuse for Kansas because I could test that theory next spring. Yeah, point for RM.

Also he said I'm risking a career-ending injury, like he seems to have. Early in the walk and before I even mentioned Farmdale I asked if he was running again. He said not since July 4th weekend. This hit me in the gut, I can't imagine it, the prospect of maybe not running ever again. So when he came to this point later in the walk he was speaking to me from experience. Not a hypothetical. When I discussed this with TH I couched it as 'not running a few weeks to rest' against 'being in physical therapy for two months'. But then couch that against 'maybe not running for 6 months' or 'not running ever again'..... that catches my attention.

He had lots of input on the mental stuff too. Would finishing this race really satisfy the itch? Would not finishing it satisfy it? What do I really want from this? Why can't I run a good 50?

Unfortunately, the more I heard the stronger my will to do this race built up. What it because I felt challenged? Or because as I countered I felt my arguments getting stronger? Whatever it was, on the way home I kid you not I stopped at Target to buy velcro and some treats for the race. Then George Strait's Run song came on the radio. Kid you not.

"Baby run, cut a path across the blue sky"