Cashing in (an empty account)

The main race of the season is coming up and it is time for me to cash in on the training done during the last couple of months.. except I have not been doing so much training so there is not that much to cash in on...

Since the problems with my achilles heel (which co-incided with my three week holiday) I have had problems getting back into the rythm of training regularly and as such I have only had two long runs (over 20k) in the last six weeks. Which is NOT perfect preperation for a marathon. I kept thinking it was just due to a bad stretch and I kept believing I could simply make up for it by adjusting my training schedule slightly. This on the other hand made my training schedule less "set in stone" - which led to me missing multiple training sessions as I kept fooling myself that I could just adjust my training schedule, right? These unfortunate events (injury, holiday and a constantly moving training schedule) led to me missing the opportunity of really making my number one goal of this season...

So it is with great regret and a feeling of great disappointment I am reflecting on what REALLY went wrong?? How could I let myself down in such a way???

So far I can conclude the following:
- Too aggresive planning. Following a strict training schedule for more than one year is simply too much. I need to allow myself a period where I run for fun instead of by following a strict schedule.

- Too much "re-planning" of the third marathon. I should have made a clear plan for recovery from my injury and stuck to it, instead of keep allowing myself to replan the training.

- Too much focus on repetitive targets. I ended up being focused purely on improving my split times, which led to boring and repetitive training. Instead I will spice things up with running in the woods, along the beach, speed intervals, sprints, etc.

Hopefully with the new season (2014) I will be able to once again find the goals and training schedule that can keep me motivated throughout the season... but until then I will be running a minimum of 30k a week preferably in new woods or trails and following no specific training plan (in relation to pace, etc.)....

But before I get there I need to complete September: Dam tot Dam race + Berlin Marathon is coming up... with focus being on having fun instead of beating my PBs..