Friday, September 17, 2010

Fall Marathons

Has it really been over 2 months since I posted on this blog?! Wow, time sure does fly by. It was a VERY hot summer and that made marathon training more difficult, but I was able to keep on track. That often meant getting up at 6am to do my long runs, which was REALLY hard as I am not a morning person in the least. But getting up early was the "lesser of two evils." I don't run well in the heat, humidity, and/or sun so I forced myself to get up. There were definitely times I couldn't get up, which resulted in switching around my training schedule, but I have not yet missed a long run. And this weekend is my final 20 mile run so I am in good shape.

Yes, believe it or not, I have another marathon in 3 weeks and 2 days. I'm running the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in the Albany area of NY. That will be my 12th marathon in the 10th state, so I'll be eligible to join the 50 States Marathon Club!! Woo hoo! I will have my application all ready to mail in when I return from NY. You see, you need to complete marathon in at least 10 states to join the club. I can't wait to be an official member. I've been lurking for a while. :)

The NY marathon will be extra special as a friend of mine is also running it (we independently decide to run it and were excited to find out the other person's plans). We are going to travel together; thankfully her husband is coming and can drive us. I am usually traveling to marathons by myself so not only is it a luxury to have other people accompany me, but I don't even have to drive. Yay! It is certainly a tough task to drive a few hours after running a marathon, so I am thankful I won't have to do it. The marathon course is mostly flat and downhill, with only one significant hill about halfway through. Most of the course is on a bike path next to the river, so that will be nice and scenic. They close the course after 5 1/2 hours, so I just hope I finish in time. I've run 11 marathons so far, all in under 5 1/2 hours. But my PW (personal worst) time was 5:20 so it's not that far off!

Once that marathon ends I will immediately begin training for my next marathon, which is 5 weeks after NY. I am following a special training program for that. More on that marathon after I finish the NY race! :)