Should Helen do the Philly Marathon?

For the past week, I've been toying with the idea of joining the Philadelphia Marathon. Since the race is just two months away, I am decidedly late in starting to train for it. It also doesn't seem fair to wing it, given that the race costs $115 and all. If I had thought of the marathon earlier, say in July, I would've decided "yes" for sure.

Yesterday, I made my long run a marathon feasibility study -- I need to figure out if I could run 15 miles comfortably. I felt like that's the minimum level of run fitness I need now if I were to get started this late. So, I tried to recruit Noah and Leah for a portion of the run, and then headed out.

It was 65 degrees and sunny, just ideal conditions for this feasibility study. As it turns out, it's also a good day for wandering in the trails. Four miles into the run, I was still not feeling it, and I didn't have the patience to wait for things to click. So I cut across Blue Bell Park into the Wissahickon, and decided to do a longer trail run instead.

I ran at a relaxed effort along the Roxborough side of the creek until Summit/Rex Ave, switched to the lower trail on the Chestnut Hill side, and ran up the Lavendar trail towards home. When I got to our front steps, both my legs and my brain had shut down, a good sign that I've had enough. I had been out there for two hours.

I'm happy that I had an enjoyable long run in the trails, but I also wish I had followed through with the 15-miler. Maybe this is the way I feel about the marathon as well -- I want to finish it and re-BQ but I'm not so hot about running it.