What I'm doing instead of the Des Moines Marathon

Most readers of this blog had no idea I was even considering the Des Moines Marathon, so the declaration that I've decided against it doesn't have quite the impact.

After my half marathon success, I began to wonder whether I should take on a new challenge, and the obvious next step seemed to be a marathon.

The even more obvious next step seemed to be the Des Moines Marathon: It takes place in late October; I live near one of the more challenging portions of the race; and I now work from home on flexible hours.

What I didn't account for, though, was the freedom of no longer working nights and weekends. I've been taking full advantage of this new development — it's like summer break for grownups, because there's time to play and income to fund the fun.

There were a few other factors pushing me away from the marathon, but that was the primary one.

Here are the races I'm considering instead:

Bix 7 (July 25). I still have to figure out whether I trust myself to not party too hard during the July 24 Cheap Trick concert in Coralville and then wake up at 5 a.m. to get to Davenport by 6:30 a.m. for day-of packet pickup.

Also, I'll be honest: Racing in Des Moines has spoiled me when it comes to race-day travel. With the exception of RAGBRAI 2014, I've barely given transportation and parking a thought since I left Rockton.

But the outlook looks fairly promising. I'm struggling with motivation to run, and encouraged by the general feasibility of doing this race.

Capital Pursuit (Sept. 20). The website claims it's a fast race, so we'll see whether I can beat my last 10-mile race, which definitely incorporated hills. This will force me to train, but not to suffer: I'd probably start training the last week of July (or early August, if I do the Bix 7).

Sycamore 8 (early December). An off-road race in the Midwest in early winter? If that doesn't say "new challenge," I don't know what does.

Half marathon wild cards: I would consider doing the NewBo half marathon (Sept. 6), the Des Moines half (Oct. 18) or the Hillbilly Hike (Nov. 7).

Friends have expressed vague interest in doing the NewBo half and the Des Moines half, so I offered to run with them should they decide to do so. Also, NewBo and Hillbilly both also host a 10K; I could use those as a baseline, if 10K becomes next year's speed target.

And finally (geez, I ramble), I have two formal bike rides actually planned: this weekend's Bacoon Ride, which we could manage to stretch into a century ride, and more importantly, the Tour de Fur on Aug. 30, which benefits Furry Friends Refuge!

Exiling "should" from my running vocabulary

Before my recent face-to-face sympathy session with the repair guy, I had another virtual sympathy session, this time with a post from Susan Lacke.

In "There Is No 'Should' In Running," Susan recounts a conversation she had with a friend who'd just completed a half marathon.

This friend, like other runners Susan's talked to, said with some resignation that she guessed she'd have to do a marathon next. To this view, Susan responds: "You don’t have to do anything. Do you want to run a marathon?"

The post goes on to defend all distances as being perfectly acceptable to qualify you as a "real runner." But that part wasn't what spoke to me — it was the line excerpted above.

As you may or may not remember, I decided that this year's goal would be to at least consider running a marathon, and I've explained it as "if I'm going to do it, I should think about doing it now, with a child-free life and a 40-hour workweek."

But while struggling mostly mentally, sometimes physically, this spring, I've thought about how the hurdles are twice as large from a half marathon to a full ... and it's made me 99.5 percent sure I won't be trying a marathon this year, or, honestly, any year.

After reading Susan's column, though, that conclusion seemed less gloomy. The answer to "do you want to run a marathon?" is no.

And man, there is a huge difference between, say, going to a movie you don't actually want to see all that badly, and running a distance twice what you've ever done when you don't want to.

I didn't even fall short on my goal of "think about doing a marathon," because I did think about it. Having the most time and fitness that I'm likely to have just doesn't translate to having the desire.

Boston Marathon explosion: What is there to say?

In lieu of self-deprecation, occasional boasts and frequent complaints about the weather, this post will be the equivalent of a moment of silence, out of respect for the Boston Marathon tragedy yesterday.

Many people will have eloquent and moving commentary about the explosion. I'll let them provide the emotional insight, and I'll keep all of those affected in my thoughts.

Web wrap-up: Aug. 13 to 26

I slacked last week (and am a little ahead of myself for this week), but don't worry, this post won't become bloated as a result.

Running Is Funny: The Ultimate Marathon ... Literally. The Pisa Marathon takes place Dec. 16, a few days before the most recent end-of-the-world prediction. Organizers decided to incorporate this into their marketing strategy, making a creepy video urging you to pay to run 26.2 miles during what could be the final week of all of our lives. Watch it, but not too close to bedtime.

CBS: Dog treadmill sales brisk as pets shape up. OK, before anyone gets on a high horse about pampered pets, the article points out that animal shelters can make great use out of these, instead of forcing the poor doggies to go stir-crazy. Also, dogs (and cats) are cute. The end.

Well: How to Make the Dog Days Your Training Partner. Scientists have decided there is indeed some benefit to gritting your teeth and exercising in hot weather: When fall comes around, you'll be mentally tougher for having done so. Physically tougher? Well, at least you'll get used to the heat while you're in it ...

Remy's World: Why Are Runners So ... Inspired by the blogger who checked to see how each state was viewed, Mark Remy used the Google autocomplete search function to see what the Internet thought of runners/joggers/running/jogging.

The results, surprisingly, include many positive questions ("why are runners so ripped?") and, not surprisingly at all, refer to bodily functions that are generally not considered polite. Read and laugh.

Another Mother Runner: Winner of There She Goes Charm Necklace. Bloggers Dimity and SBS asked for what their readers would put on the front of a running pendant, and the winner's idea resonated with me:

"An exclamation point. I did not grow up athletic. I am still amazed and surprised at my ability to run long distances."

Yep, me too. I'd wear it with pride!

Web wrap-up: July 2 to July 8

Today's Web wrap-up begins on a sad note.

In a pleasant break from Syria, Sandusky and other disturbing news, I was assigned to proofread a story about a baby beluga whale rescued off the Alaskan coast. His care was incredibly expensive, and the research center that was nursing him was going to host a 5K run to help defray those costs.

I Googled the whale as I prepared to write this post, only to discover that he'd died earlier today. Poor lost little guy. RIP, "Naknek."

However, my job at a media company did yield a more cheery item for the wrap-up: Steve Cannon of Des Moines finished his 40-day streak of running 26 miles around Lake Michigan last Thursday. According to the Des Moines Register's article, he raised more than $32,000 for cancer research while doing so.

Quite impressive, especially coming from the perspective of someone who A) has never run farther than a half marathon and B) who has never even attempted any incarnation of the Runner's World Run Streak.

That's it for today. Blogging and/or running may be a bit sporadic for the rest of the week as I host the grandparents.