Thursday, October 13, 2011

Running Addict

I spent two hours Sunday morning watching the Chicago Marathon on nbclive.com. It was very exciting watching the leaders run in packs, and eventually pull away and earn a course record. The broadcast constantly checked in with the weather, which was said to be warm but, "Not too humid." After reading many recaps I realize that it was indeed extremely warm. Maybe not during the roughly two hours it took the professionals to run the course, but during the 4-6 hours it took normal folks. All of this made me want to run another marathon, BADLY. I'm scheduled to run the Thanksgiving Half in Atlanta, and the Publix half in Atlanta in March. I was at a Girls on the Run meeting two weeks ago and they announced some free entries into the Inaugural Ramblin Rose half marathon in Durham.  I was lucky enough to be chosen and really excited about the opportunity. It's the the first women's only half marathon in the state of North Carolina! It was quite a stretch though, as I have to be in Spartanburg Saturday night. My plan was to catch a ride super early, think 430AM, Sunday morning with some people to Durham. However, they decided to spend Saturday evening there, and after much consideration, I've decided to not do the half. I'm bummed, but it's probably the best idea. I DID meet a great running partner last week and am looking forward to doing a fast 12-miler Saturday morning with her.

This still doesn't solve my predicament of wanting to run another FULL marathon. It's been seven months since my first one. I am ready to go again! Though I'm physically not in the shape I would want to be in for the race. My goal has been and still is to run another full Fall 2012. But that's YEAR away. I plan on either Chicago or NYC. I also received some interesting information regarding the NYC Marathon. If you're a marathon runner then you know how the lottery system works for the race. If you get denied three years in a row, you are guaranteed entry the fourth year. Well, apparently the field is getting too big to manage so they had to make some changes. If you were denied for a third time this year, you still have your guaranteed entry November of 2012. If you are denied for a third time next fall, you are guaranteed entry for 2013. After that, no more guaranteed entry. I owe a HUGE thanks to my great friend and running partner Lauren, who encouraged me to sign up for my first NYC Marathon in 2010. This means I AM IN! I will be the last group to have guaranteed entry, and run the NYC Marathon in 2013. This is a huge relief. I would be extremely upset if it cut me out, especially because the new time requirements are insane. 1 hour and 27 minutes for a half time. That is CRAZY.

So, I guess I will have to settle with Chicago (or maybe maybe if I'm lucky and get picked) NYC in 2012. I'm trying to convince myself to start training now. I have met some fellow tweeters and we are all committing to training for Chicago Marathon 2012, or #cm12 as we like to call it. I'm also focusing on strength training, tempo runs, sprints, and healthy eating. (See colorful, veggie-ful dinner from a few nights ago below.) I suppose if I train this well for a whole year I will have a spectacular race. For now I will settle with that.

3 comments:

  1. If you get picked in 2012, can I have your guaranteed entry in 2013? (I'm kidding, of course it doesn't work that way. But grrrr.)

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  2. Ok. You just gave me bad news about NYC. I'll be the first group they cut in 2014. Only applied in 2011 and did not make it.
    Anyhow just stumbled on your tweet with a runchat hashtag and liked your user name. I am in K12 too but I would be administratorswhorun :)
    Good luck
    @michaelnic2

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  3. I got injured and DNS'ed the Chicago Marathon this year, but some blogging friends are thinking of running it in 2013. I think I might do the Twin Cities Marathon or the Toronto Marathon in the fall of 2012.

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