Ever since the summer of 2012, when I realized how horrible I am at running races above about 70 degrees, I’ve wanted to treat the winter months as my “running season” (for many professional and college level runners, winter is the “off season”). Over the winter of 2012-2013, I ran my first 2 marathons. The following winter, I ran 4. Last winter, I ran one, then was sidelined by a foot issue that set me back a few months, and I didn’t fully recover until just before my trip to Newfoundland (where I got 3 extra weeks of winter to make up for it).
So how many marathons am I looking to run this winter? How about 6? That sounds easy enough. I mean, it sounds easy from a scheduling standpoint. Actually running 6 marathons will probably be kind of hard. But, as I said to a certain relay partner when I ran into her a couple weeks ago, I run marathons because I suck at them. I run them because they’re hard. I run them because it’s always an open question as to whether I’m going to finish. It’s funny, running is the only thing in my life for which I have this attitude.
Anyway, if I’m doing 6, I’ve got 1 down, and 5 to go. I’ve just registered for #2 – the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon on December 5. Unfortunately, it looks like the Hawk Indoor 50k isn’t going to be run this year, due to a lack of interest. If anyone were to ask me, I’d say the lack of interest is probably due to the complete lack of any kind of publicity or registration website, but hey, what do I know? I’ll jump at the chance to register if they decide to do it, but I’d give that a 10% chance of happening.
This means I have a hole to fill in late December/early January for #3. There are a couple ultras I’ve had my eye on*, one on December 19, and one on January 9, but both are sold out. Curses! I should plan ahead a bit more. There’s a 50k with spots open that’s not too far from here on January 16**. I will give myself 24 hours to decide whether to register, so I don’t miss out. A friend of mine is running the 25k too, so that will be nice.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. This weekend, my friend Henry and I are running the American Family Fitness Half Marathon in Richmond, VA. We ran it last year, and got just under 1:56 (I’m obligated to mention that Henry beat me by 3 seconds). This year, we’re planning on beating that, and trying for sub-1:55. My half marathon PR is 1:53:20, so that’s something else to aim for. Unfortunately, there isn’t a 1:55 pace group, so we kind of have to wing it with my GPS watch, unless we want to take our chances with the 1:50 pace group. This is a decision Henry and I will probably discuss at length this Friday in quiet negotiations using spreadsheets and pace calculators. Or we’ll just wing it Saturday morning, going by how well the donuts go down.
My thinking right now is that 1:55 is probably doable, beating my PR is a stretch, and going for 1:50 would be very risky. If I make the 1:50 attempt and it doesn’t work out, the crash is hard – it could mean a 2:00+ finish. So it’s not as easy as saying “Let’s go for it, and if I have to slow down, I’ll ease off a little bit.” This is kind of a go-for-broke or play-it-safe situation. Stay tuned to see how it plays out.
* – Seashore Nature Trail 50k in Virginia Beach, VA, and Frozen Sasquatch 50k in Charleston, WV, if you’re taking notes
** – PHUNT 50k in Elkton, MD, and why are you taking notes, anyway?
Where am I running? 