Feeling Old

I'm signed-up for my 8th marathon next weekend, but at this point I'm not sure it was the right decision.

Since last December I've had a series of injuries that, until June, kept me at low mileage, out of races, and avoiding speedwork. Now I have been back up and running for 12 weeks at normal training mileage(55mpw) but have felt ragged and plagued with back and hip problems all along. Am I getting too old to train to run a fast 26.2?

Living in the far north, it's hard to run with others or get much feedback on training, so burn-out seems to me very possible, both physically and psychologically.

When I ran 3:13 after a year of training, I felt that 3-hours would be easy, since my training was light and speed good. But..I was 43 at the time, and due to jobs and bad weather at a couple of marathons, I've only run one good time since then. Now, I have the time, but the training is increasingly difficult.

On 5Ks-half marathons it doesn't matter as much, but trying to run more at 48 is taking its tole.

Tomorrow is a 5K. It's a good chance to see how well I'm adapting to the training. Also, I can see just how much some of the pains really affect my running.

All along, I known that one can only run so many full marathons at top pace. I have to be honest and decide if it's smart(and healthy) to continue. Or...run shorter races.