I keep checking to see if the Maple Leaf Indoor Marathon registration is still open, and so far it is. The question is: Am I up for running 208 laps again this year?
The answer, based on yesterday’s 32-lap, 3 mile run at the Jorgensen Y: Maybe not.
I know I can do the distance. It’s been less than a month since the HUFF 50k, and while I haven’t kept my mileage up, I’m pretty sure I could ramp it up in time for the Feb. 21 race.
The problem is mental. After plunging into trail running last fall, I’ve lost some of my patience for road running. And if running down the road feels tedious, guess what indoor lap running feels like?
Still … it was really cool to “get in the zone” and do some mental exploration during those long mega-lap training runs this time last year. Just because I couldn’t access my “memory palace” yesterday doesn’t mean it’s been deleted from my brain. It’s just rusty, that’s all.
If I wait too much longer, there won’t be a decision to make. There are a limited number of spots available for an indoor race. But it’s going to take another, more successful attempt before I feel confident signing up. (And in the meantime, maybe I’ll find an inexpensive outdoor trail run…)
As for Janathon Day 12: Monday was another circuit workout at home – 4 sets of planks, squats and aerobic step sessions.
90in9 
I was always a little jealous of your ability to find value in the self-flaggelation of indoor cardio… Admired you from afar as I trudged the snowy road to happiness, icicles clinging to my brow.
Yup, sooner or later the outdoors get ya.
I agree, the outdoors is better. But I did like the camaraderie of this race. It was cool how you were with the same people, including the frontrunner, the whole time.
I cannot fathom the agony of that many laps… I’m not sure which would be worse – that or a treadmill!
Well, you definitely have to give your mind something to do. Listening to a really riveting audio book helps, too. That’s what I did for part of the race.