Cured: In For SFM ‘08!

I thought I was alone; the only one on this blog-o-sphere afflicted with the runner’s disease known as commitophobia. And then, one by one, others like me came forth, telling tales and speaking truths about how they have been similarly affected, displaying symptoms of not being able to click the little blue CONFIRMATION button for as long and longer than I have. It’s a travesty really, so many talented runners and avid marathoners not being able to participate in a roadrace; not because of injury, lack of training or prior obligations, but because they simply cannot click a little button. The horror of it all, for me, is that the disease is growing more and more rampant and virulent by the day, and if it ever gets out of control and becomes an epidemic, I’d be looking at jail time or at least some notoriety as being the first to start the conversation.

In order to ‘cure’ myself from this disease and restore my credibility among the common running folk who don’t believe in such myths as commitophobia, I’ve made the necessary arrangements and completed the registration (and yes, even pushed the little blue confirmation button) for the 2008 San Francisco Marathon. So, despite the long travel, extremely hilly course, the insanely early start (5:30 AM? What? Whoever heard of starting a marathon at 5:30AM?!), the lack of any crowd support, and the usual early morning fog in the Bay area, I will be running this race on the weekend of my 33rd birthday.

Woohoo! I am super-psyched, but a little scared as well. I’ve never run a race so far away from home before. If there’s anyone out there who’s done this course and can give a few pointers on what to expect or how to prepare adequately for those hills, please, please, please drop me a line. It would be highly appreciated.

Now, if you all will excuse me, I’m going to find a wall that I can bang my head against for ever thinking I would get an objective opinion on whether I should run a marathon from my RBFs…

Confessions of a Running Commitophobe

I’m really NOT that guy. I’m not the guy that wakes on line for 15 minutes and still has to take forever to decide what to put on his mochachino at the Starbucks counter, or the guy that always has to order last when he and his friends are out to dinner. I’m not even the guy who will visit a store more than once for something he wants to buy. Nope, that’s not me.

BUT…when it comes to anything running-related, I’m a total commitophobe. (Is that even a word?) For instance, I’ll never buy running shoes without at least trying 3 other pairs even if I end up buying the same pair that I came in the store with. I also had to try out every flavor of GU just to prove I love chocolate (it’s like, of course, doh, who wouldn’t like chocolate?) And if a friend ever decides to run with me, I’d always defer making the decision as to how long we’d run, because I honestly never know. It frustrates the hell out of them, but I really can’t help it. Maybe that’s why I’ve been running alone so much more this year as opposed to last year, hmmm…

Lately, it’s gotten much worse…especially when it comes to registering for a roadrace. I just can’t commit to anything without checking my 4 calendars to make sure I’m free, calling all my friends and family to make sure there are no plans in the works that involve me the day of and the night before, contacting work to make sure I can take off the next day if I should be too sore to work, checking weather.com to see if there’s a chance of precipitation, and agonizing over my training schedule to make sure I have the necessary speedwork, tempo runs, and endurance runs to prepare for the race. And after I do all that, I still have to mull it over my head and take it with me on a few runs before I’ll actually make the final decision to run. If I had my way, I would never register for a race, even a nothing 4-miler, until the actual morning of the race. (Is that even a legitimate excuse, or am I being taken over by my evil twin who secretly wants me to be a bandit!)

Perhaps, that’s why I STILL haven’t successfully registered for my summer marathon yet, The San Francisco Marathon on August 3rd, even though I’ve been thinking and talking about it for the last 2 months. Although I’ve filled out the online registration form three separate times, I have not yet had the courage to click the CONFIRMATION button at the bottom of the page. I can’t decide if it’s just cold feet or a sign from the running gods that I really shouldn’t be doing this. Such a tough, tough decision.

It’s obvious that I will need some help to resolve this psychological delimma and make sure my entry form gets processed sometime before the start of the race. So over the next several posts, I’m going to list my reasons to run, and reasons not to run the marathon. You all can decide what I should do. Please help. Otherwise, I might have to enlist some professional assistance, who will undoubtedly put me on a bright little blue pill.