Saturday, January 22, 2011

Oversleeping is becoming a bad habit

It was eerily quiet as I opened my eyes, rolled over and looked at the clock. 7:43am. wait... what??? 7:43am!!!??? NO! It can't be! I completely overslept and didn't even hear my alarm. That means I missed the Manhattan half marathon. I was supposed to be awake at 6:30, when my alarm went off. By 7:43, I should have already been at Central Park, picked up my tee-shirt, checked my bag, began to warm up, and made my way to the starting line. Instead, I was still lying in bed under the blankets in my pj's. This can not be happening.

This morning's mishap was a major bummer for a couple of reasons. Primarily, I was really looking forward to this race! The Bronx Half Marathon last year was a great race - very enjoyable and fairly effortless despite minimal training. The route left something to be desired, but overall it was a good course and definitely the high point of my 2010 racing season. As a newbie to the city, I was thrilled to learn about the Bronx Half just in time to register. Once I discovered the race was part of a larger Grand Prix series (one half marathon in each borough, spread throughout the year), I vowed to complete the full circuit in 2011. I had such high hopes for this year. However, considering I didn't even make it to the starting line of the Manhattan Half - the first race of the year - that dream died long before it even began. Sometimes I can be way too ambitious in over-planning.

Guess it's for the best after all. I mean, I haven't ran more than 10 miles since the Ted Corbett 10-miler over a month ago, and with the holidays, harsh winter weather, a weakened immune system and a long string of nasty illnesses, I spent way more time with my sheets and blankets than my running sneakers and my New Balance fleece. Mostly out of guilt from missing the race, I vowed to run regardless... and proceeded to stay in bed until about 11:30am. Later that day, I finally took myself outside for a quick 3-mile run just before dusk. Let me tell you, that run was brutal. It was painful. My lungs ached from the icy cold air, my eyes stung from the freezing atmosphere. My toes, fingertips and nose began to go numb. I slipped on the ice and slid through the snowy slush. My legs were sore, my stomach had cramps, and every inch of my body was just screaming at me to stop, from the very second that I started. So, needless to say, it was a painfully slow run. Before I hit 3 miles, I was completely beat. I have no idea how I would have ever lasted 10 more miles on top of that, at sub-freezing temps first thing in the am. It just would never have happened. If I had attempted the half, I seriously think I would have hurt myself. That is pretty much the ONLY reason why I am okay with my oversleeping this one time, and actually very grateful that I did.

Still, I was extremely disappointed in myself. This is the second race I've slept through since moving to the city. Not to mention oversleeping and missing a running guide tour, along with missing out on a long run with friends purely because I slept in too late to meet everyone. This is getting to be a major problem. If I can't drag my but out of bed for something that I love and truly enjoy doing, then there's no hope left for anything else in my life. I am doomed to miss out on things simply due to sheer exhaustion and an inability to get myself up at a reasonable hour... even when I have something exciting going on!

Not to mention all the money I've wasted on race registrations for missed races. Besides these two NYRR races that I slept through, there was the Niagara Falls Half marathon that my friend bailed on me, so I had my registration deferred. Then, the following year I completely forgot about the race and didn't remember - or plan - far enough in advance to get my passport ready. There was about $70 down the drain. Besides that, there was the Ocean Drive Marathon, which I was completely psyched about running in March 09, yet unfortunately I got in a major car accident the week before the race, tore a tiny intercostal muscle, and couldn't run. Thankfully the race director was kind enough to defer my registration to the following year. The next year rolled around, and I found myself untrained, un-prepared, unemployed, and faced with a job offer that required me to move the NYC the very same weekend as the marathon. Needless to say, I once again ate about $70-$90 in race registration fees for a race I never even got to run.

This is getting to be extremely discouraging. Not only am I loosing tons of money on all these missed races, I've let myself (and others) down more times than I care to count. Even with a good nights sleep, sometimes I can't even drag my but out of bed for a run. Oversleeping has always been a problem for me, but it reaches new heights when it starts to interfere with the life I want to be leading. Something's go to give. This is getting to be a really bad habit!

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