Friday, July 23, 2010

decisions, decisions

A friend of ours is getting married Oct 9, 2010 in North Carolina. I am super stoked for the wedding and visiting Asheville for the first time; unfortunately wedding weekend falls on the one weekend nearly every marathon I want to run is happening. :( I'm especially sad to be missing out on the Chicago marathon. It seems like everyone is running it this year! Being out of town that weekend in October and for two weeks in November (huge vacation = so excited!), and spending a lot of money on these trips really limits any fall marathon options. I'm left with a few and not sure what I want to do. This is where you come in and help me ;)

Originally I had grand plans to run the Akron marathon in September before all my fun and the holidays. Then when training should have started I was sick and not feeling like putting in the work that training requires. So I'm bumping that back to the half. This way I can run part of the course and see if I want to make the full commitment next year. There are a couple other half marathons and other races I also have my eye on as well.

Fall race options:

1) Run Columbus Ohio marathon 10/17. Pros: Friends are running, it is a fast course that is well supported, should be cool weather, less than 2 hours from family in Ohio so they may come support as well. Cons: Long drive for a short weekend, would have to start training asap.

2) Haunted Hustle Marathon in Middleton, WI on 10/30. Pros: Plenty of time to train, only 3 1/2 hour drive to Madison/Middleton, weather should be good (but it is Wisconsin, it could snow at the end of October), sounds like a fun and different race, would add a new racing state to my list. Cons: I leave for my big trip 2 days after the race. Do I really want to travel for 10 hours super sore? Day 2 post marathon is usually the worst for me...

3) Forget the full marathon this fall and run the 1/2 marathon and other fun races the remainder of the year.

Another thing I should mention is I am kicking around the idea of the Goofy Challenge in January as well. So I don't want to run a full in December and thus burn myself out on running and training. Goofy will be for fun, no time constraints, and to raise money for cancer research!

So let me know what you think in the comments. Also is anyone else running the Disney full/half marathon in January?

18 comments:

Aron said...

if you REALLY want to run a marathon this fall, both of those sound great. i like having vacation or something after the marathon, then you are still in "recovery" and dont have to worry about training or anything :)

that being said, it definitely wouldn't be bad to hold off a fall marathon and run the goofy challenge! that would be something totally exciting and new, and you wouldn't have to start training right now.

Julie @ ROJ Running said...

My first impression is that you should just go ahead an not run a full, do the half and look forward to your trips and the Goofy challenge...but it's really your choice.

Allie @ The Constant Pursuit said...

Akron is a great race! I'm doing the half as a tune up for the Philadelphia Marathon in November (another race you could kick around running ;)

Although, I do have my sights on the Goofy Challenge as well as some point, so I wouldn't blame you if you go for that route!

Teamarcia said...

I ran Columbus last fall and it is flat and fast. I just feel meh about it because I ran it poorly.
How about the Grand Rapids marathon? It is my all-time fave.

Anne said...

I say go with your gut...do what seems to work best for you.

MCM Mama said...

Good luck with your decision. I'd probably go with #3, but that's because I don't think my body could do a fall and Goofy. But I'm old LOL.

I'm going to be in Wisconsin from August 10-24 - any chance we could try to meet up?

Mark said...

Goofy challenge! That sounds like the trip!

runner26 said...

in the end, it's totally your call. but if it were me (and i think you might feel kinda like me right now re: training) then i would hold off on a full this fall, continue to run lots, and do the goofy challenge when you feel refreshed, have your trips out of the way, and can enjoy the novelty of it. just my thoughts -- hope they help

Tina Mickelson said...

I agree w/ Aron. I think you should do some local 1/2's this fall and gear up for Goofy! If you have the chance to do it, take it! and its for a good cause ;)

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

The Goofy Challenge sounds awesome! i would lOVE to do that one, but it is at a terrible time of the year for me, work wise. I'd do that and enjoy the upcoming trips!

The Laminator said...

I think it really depends whether you're committed to Goofy in January. If so, then skip fall marathon, run your half, go on your trips and come back energized and refreshed for the training. If you're not thinking of Goofy than the Wisconsin option sounds preferable. Good luck with your decision!

lifestudent said...

That sucks you cant do Chicago ... actually everyone I know kind of gave up on Chicago this year, so I'm not feeling too bad about it (unlike the past 2 years where everyone I knew did it).

You will find the prefect race for you, Chicago is not the be all, end all. There are a lot of local races that run right around Chicago in WI and MI. But a trip to FL in January is always nice :)

Marlene said...

My vote is for the Haunted Hustle... the 10h of travel may not be ideal, but how cool to start vacation right after a marathon! Best kind of recovery.

RunToTheFinish said...

enjoy the time with friends and fam, then kick major butt at the goffy challenge!!

J said...

I think you could manage running the 10/30 marathon and also the Goofy challenge. I think it would be fun to run Goofy, so if you just ran that one it would give you a warm climate and a fun race to look forward too...but training in the winter can be tough.

X-Country2 said...

i WILL do Goofy one day. :o) I vote that.

Jess said...

If you're doing Goofy, I think you should stick to halfs this fall. Don't overly stress yourself trying to jam in a full. Pick a few fun halfs and race those as part of your Goofy training.

C said...

Save your time and energy for Goofy.