So now there’s a destination.
It’s Copley Square in Boston on Patriot’s Day, some year in the future.
At the time of this writing, if you look to the left of this text there’s a widget that says “Shires of Vermont Marathon 2 Months to go” which is the first milestone. It was selected late last fall for a number of reasons.
- After disappointing showings last year in Bristol and Manchester, I’d like to get back on the horse sooner rather than later.
- It’s something to keep me focused on during the winter (or was it?).
- It’s a small-scale, small town, scenic race that’s not too ‘technical’ with crazy hills and quirky terrain.
- I can wait until close to race day to actually sign up with an affordable entry fee, as opposed to taking a gamble signing up for a larger, more expensive race months ahead of time where anything could happen between now and then. I have a track record of this happening in the past and it gets old fast.
One problem I’m facing with this is that I haven’t quite followed the standard marathon training plan over the winter and I’m very much behind schedule in terms of mileage. Two months? Is that realistic?
Well, it’s actually 10 1/2 weeks away. I’ve been consistently running every day through the winter with no signs of injury, so I’m hoping I can ramp back up to where I need to be without any issues.
There are some other potential non-running related issues that could stand in the way of being able to run the Shires Marathon. As it stands right now, I’d put getting there at a 60% likelihood. If not, I’d have to wait for something in the fall instead.
Que sera sera…
Or To New Hampshire… Whatever…
This is the first milestone of what I’m sure will be many in getting there. After all, both literally and figuratively, that’s a big part of what running is about, isn’t it?
As for the target year, I like to think it could be 2015. For some inexplicable reason (and if anyone knows, please comment below because I’m dying for an explanation), the window for qualifying for Boston ends in September of the previous year, so almost all the fall marathons in my area wouldn’t be ideal for qualifiers.
There’s a pithy bumper sticker somewhere that says “The road to life is always under construction”. There’s always bumps in the road and delays.
If it’s not 2015, there’s always next year.
Barefoot Heretic 
I share in your misery of signing up early for a race and not being able to run due to injury. Unfortunately, I have not learned from past experiences and still continue to sign up WAAAY to early because I like to take advantage of the early bird discounts. There is something inspiring about signing up for a race and marking it on your calendar. For me, I count backwards from race day and every choice I make in running, diet, etc. revolves around me getting to that race on that day.
And…10 1/2 weeks to train up…you need to get moving! And bring the pickly juice!! I know you can do it. The consistent running that you do through the window gives us the solid platform we need to spring into training programs and succeed. Yours is a shorter time frame, but I don’t think you can’t do it. Besides, what is the worst thing you do…walk a mile or two? I think after running 26.2 you can afford some walk breaks! Get running!
Kerrie- An overwhelming majority of people I know in the running community will plan their season and sign up as soon as possible for both the cost savings and for motivation. I think I’m very much in the minority in this reagard, as made evident by how quickly races fill up.
In addition to the ‘Murphy’s Law/running injury’ phenomenon I mentioned above, I’ve found that I see better inroads in my training (pun intended) when I’m not under any kind of pressure, such as when I sign up early for an event. One thing I’ve definitely learned is that I can’t force anything, but instead let things happen as they will.
I realize how counterintuitive this sounds, and running is probably the one activity in my life where I actuallly DON”T work better under pressure.
PS-you need to start a blog so I can include you in the ‘Cool People who Run’ column to the right (hint hint) =)