Running is fun. Having goals around your running can make running even more enjoyable. However, finding balance can be a real struggle.

Accepting limitations. Making the best of it when things don’t go as planned. Trying to do the most training you can without causing setbacks.

It’s all part of what makes running such an enjoyable sport, even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment

I am signed up for my first ultra marathon in a couple of years. I haven’t run an ultra recently due in large part to injuries. And I took almost the entire summer of 2023 off of running because of an injury.

Once I was on the road to recovery I really wanted to do the thing that excites me most about running. And that is pushing my limits. Pushing myself to run long distances.

The long distances allow me to explore and see things I normally would not be able to see as well as feel things I would not normally feel.

I could have made my return to the ultra distance with an “easy” 50k event. As if any 50k is easy, right. But, I wasn’t inspired by that option. I knew if I took that route I would not feel motivated to train the way I needed to and my experience at the goal event would suffer.

I needed to pick an event that was a challenge and even scared me a little bit. Enter Many on the Genny. A race that had been on my list to do for a long time. 45 miles around on of the most beautiful state parks, Letchworth State Park in New York.

If I was going to get through this I would need to train and be serious about it.

As I mentioned previously I had been injured a lot recently so my running volume has not been at all near what it used to be. This made training a challenge. Long runs are generally the staple of ultra distance training. My fitness wasn’t in a place where I could really complete the types of long runs I had in the past. At least not without completely burning myself out and needing significant rest that prevented other training.

My goal was to increase my weekly miles run by making each of my regular runs longer, but mostly not running double digit miles in a single effort. To make up for the lack of long runs my plan was to incorporate long distance hiking to make sure my body got used to being on its feet for extended durations. And to also build in more strength training than I had ever done before.

The plan for this round of training was a 28 mile hike on the Catherine Valley Trail. A relatively flat trail that I could hike at a good pace from Horseheads to Watkins Glen and back.

It all started off so well. My wife decided she wanted to do the first section with me. So we dropped her car off at a trailhead. And we hiked the first 4 miles together. I think we both were surprised at our pace for that first 4 miles. Neither of us was planning to go particularly fast. But we were moving and having fun together so that makes everything easier.

After the first 4 mile I continued on my own. As a photographer I could not resist bringing my camera, of course. I wasn’t planning to try to maintain any specific pace. And was actually thinking about it as more of a casual hike. I just wanted to cover the miles and be on my feet for a long time. And I wanted to have a good time.

But despite stopping to take a few photos from time to time I maintained a good pace. I even ticked off a few 18 minute miles, which was really good for someone who thought they were just casually hiking along. I was just having fun and enjoying time outside. I wasn’t going slow, but I wasn’t really pushing myself either.

By about 2/3 of the way to my planned turn around I could tell I was having some kind of issue with my left foot. Then by 3/4 of the way to the turn around I was sure a blister was developing on my left foot. It was developing in the worst spot. Right along the balls of my feet. Pretty much in the center.

There wasn’t much of anything I could do to reduce the discomfort or stop it from getting worse. I tried to change my stride and push off my foot differently but nothing seemed to help.

When I got to Watkins Glen, meat minutes from where I was supposed to turn around and head back, I texted my wife to update her on my progress and tell her about my foot issue. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I could keep going, or I could stop.

The blister that was developing felt like it was a deep blister. Not the kind that is a surface level bubble that can just be popped to relieve pressure and discomfort. I had experienced these types of blisters before during previous 100 mile attempts. And powered through them.

I could decide to keep going and power through, and get this training done. The difference is that during a 100 mile event that is the culmination of all the hard work and training. Pushing through is worth it.

At the end of a 1000 mile vent I can take as much time off as needed to let my feet recover from the blisters. Now is a much different scenario. I am in the height of training. My event is just over 2 months away. I cannot afford to miss a significant amount of training right now because my feet need to recover. I need to keep consistently training.

The decision that would serve my long term goal of completing 45 miles at Many on the Genny was to pull the plug now and walk away. See what I did there? Walking away from the hike.

I could get in a fractional amount more training on this one day and potentially miss a whole week of training. Or I could quit now and actually stay ahead. I would still be able to keep training regularly like I need to.

The key is to not be stubborn. Don’t sacrifice the future for the present, especially when the stakes are so low. Save the toughness, grit, and determination for when you are in the midst of the pain cave trying to finish your big goal. Don’t make the sacrifice just to finish today’s training effort.

Don’t trade a training day for a race day.

It was a hard decision to make and it was disappointing to have to stop, but it was the right decision in the long run.

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