Shortchanged

"My momma always said, running is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

Well, Tom Hanks never said that in Forrest Gump, but I will. I've been trying to stay on track with my mileage buildup for Marathon Sunday using a "SmartCoach" schedule from the Runner's World website. Each week includes a long run that folks usually fit in on the weekend.

This week's long run was written in as 16 miles. Normally, I put in a rest day (meaning no running) before and a rest day after the long run day. Well, Saturday's and Sunday's weather forecasts both show as being rainy with temperatures in the 40s Fahrenheit -- not pleasant as far as I was concerned. So instead of taking the rest day today and running Saturday, I decided to "go long" today, the day after the Turkey Dash. At mile 11, my legs left as heavy as lead and I decided that my heart wasn't in it, so I decided to return home.

I hate the thought of shortchanging a long run, but at least I got one in. If I didn't run today, the coming cold rain would likely have caused me to miss it completely.

It's just over eight weeks until Marathon Sunday . . . not that I'm paying close attention to this or anything like that.