An update on our plans for the Eugene Half
Postponing, for now
Good afternoon/evening, friends!
I wish I had better news to share with you, but I need to give you a heads-up on the Eugene Half Marathon in Oregon next month, the race we’ve been planning as a meetup event just like we did at the Richmond (Va.) Half Marathon last fall.
I hate to have to tell you this, but unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to the race. I’ve been wrestling with this decision for nearly all of the past week; finally I’ve realized I need to be honest with myself that taking as much time off from running as I did at the start of the year — thanks to a bout with plantar fasciitis — put me a lot further behind than I hoped it would.
(I had to lay off from running for about two months, and didn’t start back until the beginning of March.)
While I am able to run again now — thankfully! — I’m only running about 3 to 4 miles at a time. I’m also still experiencing a fair amount of pain, both during my runs and afterward, which makes me think that 13 miles probably isn’t something I should push for just yet.
I’m hugely, hugely bummed about this. I was really excited to meet up with you all in Eugene, to run with you, to get together before the race and after, and to see a part of the country I’ve never seen before. And I hate to disappoint any of you who’ve signed up, expecting me to be there. That part, especially, I’m seriously bummed about.
But I have the feeling that this is one of those “discretion is the better part of valor” moments when I need to listen to what my feet are telling me, rather than risk injuring them further right now.
If you signed up to run it, I hope you can accept my apology and know that we’ll do this again (hopefully in the fall). Our race meetup is something I hope to make an annual, or even twice annual, event for us — we’ll just have to wait a little longer for that to become a reality.
Again, thanks in advance for listening, and I hope you can understand if you’ve been training for and planning on the race. It still will be an amazing event, I know, and I hope to get there to run it someday (maybe next year!).
In the meantime, keep running and let me know how your training is going — as well as how your spring is going, and where your running is taking you.
Your friend,
— Terrell
Saturday, I’ll be running the Heroes Bridge 5k in Warrenton, VA. Heroes Bridge is an organization that helps disabled Vietnam veterans who can no longer help themselves by providing needed services such as meals, transportation, shelter, companionship, etc. As a reasonably fit and healthy Vietnam veteran myself, I feel obliged to participate on behalf of all my battle brothers.
This race is intensely personal for me. Friday is National Vietnam Veterans day, marking the end of our involvement in the war. It also marks the 51st anniversary of my departure from Vietnam, one of the last 200 depart on the last flight out. Two weeks ago I attended the memorial service for a long-time friend and battle brother who finally lost his 3-year battle against agent orange induced cancers, and three weeks from now I’ll also be attending another interment service at Arlington. Of the 2.1 million who served in Vietnam, fewer than 500,000 are still with us. On Saturday I will be running with them and the spirits of the 58,472 who never made it back, and we will finish together.
Unfortunately you can't plan the timing of your injuries. Take care and heal responsibly.