A Change of Plans

I was very excited when I decided to participate in my first ultra marathon – the PRO:SPORT Ultra 50k race. I started running with a water pack and started hill training to prepare for the hilly terrain of the race.  (It wasn’t easy to find a hilly place to run in flat Tel Aviv so I ran the same ¾ of a mile back and forth.)  After spending the last few months trying to improve my speed for the Tiberias Marathon, it was a hard but challenging change, and I actually started enjoying it.

On Monday I found out I wasn’t going to be able to take part in the race – I’ll be traveling.  So I decided to go to plan B – run the Tel Aviv Marathon again. I was disappointed about the change in plan since I had been looking forward to doing something new, taking it up a notch while not worrying about the result of the run (I just wanted to finish, regardless of how long it took).

I was feeling a little depressed about missing the race until I went running this morning. It was sunny but chilly and I decided to run along the beach.  I ran a 7.5 progression run which I enjoyed very much. I was quick and felt strong. The run kind of got me focused on my new goal.

The Tel Aviv Marathon will be held April 8^th giving me another month of training before the race. I want to improve my time but know that chances are slim since it will probably be hot and the course is much slower than the Tiberias marathon. Still I will train hard to try and run another sub 4 marathon, and if I don’t then at least I will have another marathon under my belt (number 5).

The Ultra marathon will just have to wait a year.

Michael Aviad

Michael Aviad is co-founder of ASweetLife. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2002. Michael was born in Santa Barbara and grew up in Jerusalem. He studied law and after passing his bar exam went on to get an MBA with a major in finance. Michael worked for many years as an economist. He and his wife Jess, also a type 1 diabetic, have three sons. Michael loves to run and is always training for the next marathon.

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