By the time 2012 had rolled around, I already had my race schedule booked through November. After burn out from completing 9+1 in 2011, I made a resolution to race less in 2012 and was pretty successful at doing that. I only ran 10 races and I ran each of them because I wanted to, not because I felt like I had to.
Fast forward to 2013 and my race calendar is looking, well...bleak.
I had my sights set on running the Eugene Marathon but when I was offered my new job, I was told that I'd have to be traveling that weekend. I spent the next few weeks looking for a replacement marathon and after not finding one, decided against training for a spring marathon.
Wait! What?
It turns out, there really aren't that many great spring marathons. It seems all of the good ones are in the Fall. None of the races I came across are local and I really don't want to travel to run a race in a city that I've never had much interest in visiting, never mind racing in.
I really don't think I would do very well in a marathon that I have no interest in running. Flying Pig sounds great, but I wasn't a big fan of Cincinnati and I don't really think I could get motivated to crush my sub-4 goal in a race that I'm really not that interested in running. Does that make sense?
There are some great summer marathons (Seattle, San Francisco) that I might consider, but I'm still on the fence.
I will be running the DC Rock & Roll Marathon again with Ally in March and I'll be pacing her to a PR so when I say I won't be training for a race, I mean, I won't be gunning for a sub-4 marathon this spring.
I'd like to spend this spring training for a big PR in the Half, but again, I'm finding a serious lack of races. I'm currently training for Cowtown but I had my lowest monthly mileage of the year in December and moving, getting sick, starting a new job and traveling this weekend have gotten in the way of me really being to kick off training so I'm not sure how ready I'll be for the big PR I'm aiming for come February.
Beyond that? I haven't seen any half-marathons that I could train for in March/April.
So what's a girl to do? I've already linked into all of the local DC groups and have found some great local short-distance races that I plan on running but my long-distance prospects are looking grim.
Here's what's on my schedule so far for this year:
Cowtown Half-Marathon - February
DC Rock & Roll Marathon - March
Marine Corps 17.75k - March
Cherry Blossom 10 Mile - April
Cleveland Half-Marathon - May (???)
...
I'm definitely planning on running Marine Corps again. I absolutely loved that race and the course runs right past my new apartment. There are some fall half-marathons that I'll probably do as part of my training but as far as the spring is concerned, I'm at a total loss!
Have you ever found yourself itching to race but with limited options? What did you do? What are some of your favorite spring marathons?
Fast forward to 2013 and my race calendar is looking, well...bleak.
I had my sights set on running the Eugene Marathon but when I was offered my new job, I was told that I'd have to be traveling that weekend. I spent the next few weeks looking for a replacement marathon and after not finding one, decided against training for a spring marathon.
Wait! What?
It turns out, there really aren't that many great spring marathons. It seems all of the good ones are in the Fall. None of the races I came across are local and I really don't want to travel to run a race in a city that I've never had much interest in visiting, never mind racing in.
I really don't think I would do very well in a marathon that I have no interest in running. Flying Pig sounds great, but I wasn't a big fan of Cincinnati and I don't really think I could get motivated to crush my sub-4 goal in a race that I'm really not that interested in running. Does that make sense?
There are some great summer marathons (Seattle, San Francisco) that I might consider, but I'm still on the fence.
I will be running the DC Rock & Roll Marathon again with Ally in March and I'll be pacing her to a PR so when I say I won't be training for a race, I mean, I won't be gunning for a sub-4 marathon this spring.
I'd like to spend this spring training for a big PR in the Half, but again, I'm finding a serious lack of races. I'm currently training for Cowtown but I had my lowest monthly mileage of the year in December and moving, getting sick, starting a new job and traveling this weekend have gotten in the way of me really being to kick off training so I'm not sure how ready I'll be for the big PR I'm aiming for come February.
Beyond that? I haven't seen any half-marathons that I could train for in March/April.
So what's a girl to do? I've already linked into all of the local DC groups and have found some great local short-distance races that I plan on running but my long-distance prospects are looking grim.
Here's what's on my schedule so far for this year:
Cowtown Half-Marathon - February
DC Rock & Roll Marathon - March
Marine Corps 17.75k - March
Cherry Blossom 10 Mile - April
Cleveland Half-Marathon - May (???)
...
I'm definitely planning on running Marine Corps again. I absolutely loved that race and the course runs right past my new apartment. There are some fall half-marathons that I'll probably do as part of my training but as far as the spring is concerned, I'm at a total loss!
Have you ever found yourself itching to race but with limited options? What did you do? What are some of your favorite spring marathons?
Besides Boston, my favorite Spring marathon is the Cleveland marathon. I admit I am biased on that one though since I am from Cleveland. It's a great local race that starts and ends downtown. The half marathon portion is great, the full marathon gets a little boring for a couple miles but overall a well run race.
ReplyDeleteAre you looking for a marathon or 1/2 in May? Check out these in the DC area or at least they are within 90 mins of DC:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.frederickrunfest.com/
http://www.safetyandhealthfoundation.org/marathon/
http://www.mc-coop.org/arf/
http://www.marinemarathon.com/Historic_Half.htm
Also, just in case you haven't found this site yet...this is a great DC-area list: http://www.runwashington.com/calendar.htm
Come run in Dallas! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, when I was (and still sorta am) looking for #redemptionrace. I almost did Arizona, but have no desire to go to Phoenix, so that was out. There's an amazing race close to Phoenix in Feb, which is super pretty (Lost Dutchman), but again, the Phoenix issue. I'm running the DC Half in March, Big Sur on April 28th, and I think the Vermont Marathon on May 20th - memorial day weekend. It will be fun!!! Come to that.
ReplyDeleteAlso -see you in DC for the Half and the Cherry Blossom :)
When I was looking for my #redemptionrace, I really struggled with this. Everything was in Arizona, which I have no desire to go to. I'm going to be in DC for the DC Half, and for the Cherry Blossom 10m - see you there!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope I get to see you at the 17.75K and Cle half!
ReplyDeleteGood efforts. All the best for future posts. I have bookmarked you. Well done. I read and like this post. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSeptorinoplasti
To bad we won't see each other at the Flying pig! But I totally understand. Actually I think it is a great idea to run a marathon in spring, this will help you build your base and then over the summer you just fine tune, in order ti break the 4 hours. You've got this!
ReplyDelete