All That Training Slips Away

Just over two months since the Country Music 1/2 Marathon, most of my training has vanished. More accurately, I probably sweated it out through every feeble attempt to run since that blistering morning.

Today was just as blistering, with the humidity hugging Shelby Bottoms and the only breeze to be found came as I prepared to turn around at the 3.5-mile marker.

But I can't wait for more favorable weather along the greenway. Nashville won't provide it until October. By that time, I'll have tackled two long races, in two states, just two weeks apart. I encountered the scheduling troubles when plotting which half-marathon to run in October. The Murfreesboro Middle Half fit the schedule nicely, and with minimal training, I felt pretty well on the flat course.

Because of the Middle Half's close proximity to the Columbus Half-Marathon, it precluded any possibility of running my hometown race for the first time.

Or did it? I looked at the calendar and did some running research. With only two weeks off, I could scale back my running after the Middle Half and not worry about any new training for Columbus.

So just two months after swearing off more half-marathons, I'm running two back-to-back. I blame the Country Music 1/2 Marathon; the intense heat and slight course improvements turned it into a much difference race this time around.

Not that it makes Sunday morning jogs any easier in July.