Gotcha with that one, didn't I? Well, no worries, I promise to keep it PG. After all, tomorrows booze day (one of the Huz's besties is getting married at an out of town wedding = lots of partying. Nice). Today...I wanna talk about going all the way.
Or just half way?
See, a few months ago I discussed my BUCKET LIST. On it was the lofty goal of running a marathon in all 50 states. I'm not fast. But I love the distance and it's a cool way to see the country.
But...if I run one marathon a year, that's 50 years.
Yikes.
Or...what if I skip a year?
Double yikes!
Runner's World recently did a spread on 13.1-dedicated to (wow, you guessed it) the half marathon distance. How it is fast becoming the most popular "distance race" (there's even a group our there called "Team Pikermi" that is trying to get it renamed, as they feel 13.1 isn't "half" of anything. Okay, fine, then, what do we name the Half Ironman? Don't tell me. I don't want to know).
Anyways. The feature had some awesome twists on the whole "50 marathons in 50 states" goal, with, of course, the half distance:
1. A husband and wife team trying to do "50 in 100"....that is, 50 half marathons in 50 states in less than 100 hours. Very cool.
2. The half in 25 team, who is trying to do 13.1 (half) in 25 (half of the US) states. Otherwise known as Team "We don't go all the Way". Lolz.
After reading the articles, coupled with my foot woes of 2012, I decided to alter my goal to do AT LEAST a half marathon in each state. Then, I reasoned, I could at least have run a long distance race in each state, and could come back around and do the full in each if I don't get to it in the first sweep. Much more do-able. After all, if you have a decent cardio and running base, you don't terribly need to train for a half (evidence to my 2:20 in Musselman with no running for 8 weeks prior. Not something I would recommend, but doable).
I really want to run the full.
Can I do it on 20-25 mile weeks? 2 easy runs during the week and one longer run 10-15 miles with maybe one 20? Hmmm. That sounds doable.
What about my foot?
Hmmm.
Decisions, decisions.
Then there's the time aspect. NO, before you go there, I wouldn't think about questing for my sub 4 this year at all. I would, however, like to keep it under 5 hours....every marathon I've run has been under 5 hours and I would like to keep it that way :-P A bit ridiculous? Ehh, maybe. But hey, them's my standards.
And now how bout that half? Smarter? Yes, very much so. I really wouldn't have to train to hard for that type of race, and I know I can run 13.1 without issue. Maybe not fast, but I can do it. Which is another issue. I really don't want to run a half in over 2 hours. All my stand alone halves are under 2 hours.
Man, I'm brat :-P
But I still have no answers.
So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do a long run this weekend. 5' run, 1' walk. Times...as many times as I want to. And see how I feel two hours later. If I can run 13 or 14 miles comfortably right now in roughly 10ish minute miles on a training run, the full is a possibility. If not, it's halves-ville for me.
Or just half way?
See, a few months ago I discussed my BUCKET LIST. On it was the lofty goal of running a marathon in all 50 states. I'm not fast. But I love the distance and it's a cool way to see the country.
But...if I run one marathon a year, that's 50 years.
Yikes.
Or...what if I skip a year?
Double yikes!
Runner's World recently did a spread on 13.1-dedicated to (wow, you guessed it) the half marathon distance. How it is fast becoming the most popular "distance race" (there's even a group our there called "Team Pikermi" that is trying to get it renamed, as they feel 13.1 isn't "half" of anything. Okay, fine, then, what do we name the Half Ironman? Don't tell me. I don't want to know).
Anyways. The feature had some awesome twists on the whole "50 marathons in 50 states" goal, with, of course, the half distance:
1. A husband and wife team trying to do "50 in 100"....that is, 50 half marathons in 50 states in less than 100 hours. Very cool.
2. The half in 25 team, who is trying to do 13.1 (half) in 25 (half of the US) states. Otherwise known as Team "We don't go all the Way". Lolz.
After reading the articles, coupled with my foot woes of 2012, I decided to alter my goal to do AT LEAST a half marathon in each state. Then, I reasoned, I could at least have run a long distance race in each state, and could come back around and do the full in each if I don't get to it in the first sweep. Much more do-able. After all, if you have a decent cardio and running base, you don't terribly need to train for a half (evidence to my 2:20 in Musselman with no running for 8 weeks prior. Not something I would recommend, but doable).
 |
| Ahhhh, awesome Maine race scenery |
Cool.
So I set my sights on the Portland (Maine) Half, 9 weeks from Sunday. A nice birthday weekend race, then a vacation afterwards. Perfect.
The registration is due this weekend for the discounted rate.
The Huz is giving it to me for my birthday (hey, it's what I want. No judging).
There's just one eensy problem.I really want to run the full.
Can I? Should I?
I have 9 weeks. I think I could reasonably pull off a 10-11 minute mile pace for this one. (My typical marathon pace is 9:10-9:15). But do I really want to train? No. I don't mind running, but I have no desire to pull 50 mile weeks to prep.Can I do it on 20-25 mile weeks? 2 easy runs during the week and one longer run 10-15 miles with maybe one 20? Hmmm. That sounds doable.
What about my foot?
Hmmm.
Decisions, decisions.
Then there's the time aspect. NO, before you go there, I wouldn't think about questing for my sub 4 this year at all. I would, however, like to keep it under 5 hours....every marathon I've run has been under 5 hours and I would like to keep it that way :-P A bit ridiculous? Ehh, maybe. But hey, them's my standards.
And now how bout that half? Smarter? Yes, very much so. I really wouldn't have to train to hard for that type of race, and I know I can run 13.1 without issue. Maybe not fast, but I can do it. Which is another issue. I really don't want to run a half in over 2 hours. All my stand alone halves are under 2 hours.
Man, I'm brat :-P
But I still have no answers.
So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do a long run this weekend. 5' run, 1' walk. Times...as many times as I want to. And see how I feel two hours later. If I can run 13 or 14 miles comfortably right now in roughly 10ish minute miles on a training run, the full is a possibility. If not, it's halves-ville for me.
I think.
I'll get back to ya on that one.
Dare I ask, what do you guys think?
Should I go all the way? Or play it safe and go halvsies?
:) Only because you asked... I'd go short and strong rather than long and dicey. And it's funny to write that because 13.1 is LONGER than I've ever gone! Anyhow - just keep both feet attached and happy for now - then you have LOTS of years for marathons.
ReplyDeleteI would go short and strong as well, marathons with even the best training take a longer time to recover from and your still healing the injury. Be smart and be safe. Have fun out there, you won't be too happy if you get injured again, enjoy the journey.
ReplyDeleteAhh you guys rock :-) Thanks for the reality check!
ReplyDelete