I need a decision

I finished the Nike Women's Marathon, or rather the half marathon (the race report is coming -- soon). My back doesn't hurt, my knee doesn't hurt. Neither hurt too much while I was on the course. But I was slow. Very slow. I had intended to walk the worst of the hills, intended to carefully and slowly run down the hills. But I hadn't intended to exert full effort and have only a 12:28 to show for my fastest (and first!) mile. I thought I was going much faster than it turned out I was running. And I was completely, totally, fully exhausted when I finished.

So, do I register for a full marathon in December? Although the profile shows lots of hills, the course is easier than the Nike course. It's open for 6.5 hours, longer than even my worst marathon. But I don't have a hecka lot of time to train. Sure, I can run a 16 miler, an 18 miler, a 20 miler. I could actually exercise during the week (what a concept!). I could eat and drink in a healthy manner and sleep like a normal person.

But life has a way of getting complicated when we least expect it. I very badly want to run a marathon this year. I want to run a marathon this year, not hobble or shuffle for 13 miles. I need to make this decision before the race sells out, before airfare gets so expensive that it would be ridiculous to travel.

Decisions, decisions!