(no subject)
So today was the Marine Corps Marathon Lottery, and no luck. Didn't get in. Oh well!
This is the first time I've entered a lottery for a marathon, and I'm not sure I'm crazy about the experience. But there are a few big races I'd like to run, MCM being one of them, so I'd better get used to it.
I could try to get a charity slot, but honestly, I'm not so sure that's a good idea for me. For some people, it's great, but the charities I've looked at already are asking you to raise a minimum of $600, and most seem to be more around $1000. Which actually isn't too bad (I guess for NYC you have to raise between 3 and 3.5K, which FORGET IT). Problem is, I am lacking in two things: 1.) a cause very near and dear to my heart that people know I am personally invested in, and 2.) a good base of people for fundraising. Although I guess if I picked a Tumblr approved cause I could try there :) But you usually have to pay the money you don't raise, and I don't want to be paying an extra couple hundred dollars. Sure, worthy cause, but also my wallet, you know?
So, thinking about other races to run. On the one hand, I'd kind of like to do Space Coast, down in Florida. It's not that far from my parents, so my husband and I could drop off the kids, head down to Cape Canaveral for the night, I could run, and we could be back that day. Plus, the timing is during a time it's supposed to be a good time to go to Disney (late November/early December). I'm not sure we're financially ready to take that trip to Disney, though, so maybe I'll put that on hold for a year or two.
More realistic are the following:
1.) Baltimore Marathon
2.) Atlantic City Marathon
3.) Philly Marathon
4.) Bucks County Marathon
And still researching others. Baltimore is kind of in the lead right now. It's got a pretty decent reputation, we could make a fun family weekend out of it, and I don't have Maryland yet. Atlantic City is a little behind that, especially since there's a spring NJ marathon that I'd like to try running. I was supposed to run it last year, but that was the one where my MIL passed. I didn't register for it this year because I just didn't want to go back to that marathon the year after. Next year maybe though. The big downside of Baltimore is simply that it's the same weekend as the Hershey Half Marathon, which I love. But taking a year off Hershey isn't that big a deal, especially since I was considering suggesting that we go to Hershey instead of Dutch Wonderland when my sis and nieces visit this year.
I've done Philly twice, so it's lower on my list, but there are a few attractive things about it. Like I know what to expect, and it really is a great race. But the biggest thing is no hotel stays. Which could be good, depending on what our fall looks like. Because trying to balance two kids' sports, Howard's biking, Cub Scouts, and my races is not easy. And a lot may depend on what the boys choose for the fall. If they both go soccer, that makes life easier. If they choose two different things, that could be a lot harder. Bucks County is sort of the same deal.
There are a few others I'm looking into- Wineglass in NY, maybe something in the Outer Banks... I don't know. I think a lot depends on schedules and costs. Because all these races cost money :P
I also am debating the idea of running two marathons. Not sure that that's a great idea, though, and frankly, I think I'll wait and see how this Garden Spot-Delaware-North Face 50K trifecta goes before I attempt another double. Plus, someone kindly just posted an article about a 16 year old girl passing away at a half, and seeing stories like that always does scare me some. Long distance running does have its risks, and it's even scarier when it's a young person who by all accounts is healthy.
I'd also really like to put some half marathons in there. I've been focused on the fulls, but I like the half distance. It's much more sane, for starters, and a lot less stress on the body. I hate traveling for a half though, unless I've got someone to go with or something cool to do. It's also getting a LOT harder to get into the half marathons, because they're more popular, because most people are SANE. But there are a few I'm thinking. There's a Diva race in Washington DC, the Annapolis Half... sadly, I have to miss the Bird In Hand half. (If you run Garden Spot and Bird In Hand, you win the coveted Road Apple award! That's right- petrified horse poop as a trophy! But on a serious note, I love the Bird In Hand medal, which is a horseshoe.) One thing I have discovered- I don't like running half marathons in a race where there is a marathon. I want to go the whole way.
I've mentioned medals several times, and I've gotta admit, I love me my bling. (And I so want a Disney medal of some sort. They are GORGEOUS.) Medals have admittedly become a part of my selection process. Which some people really look down on, but you know what? Every time I see an article by someone who talks about how crazy bling is getting, or how people should enjoy running without it, EVERY TIME I notice they've run the Boston Marathon. Which (usually) means they're fast. And I wonder if they understand how much the medal means to those of us to whom crossing the finish line is still a huge accomplishment. I won't refuse to run a race because there is no medal (especially shorter distances), but I definitely prefer one for the full and the half.
(Also, those finishers' medals have totally changed my outlook on "everybody gets a trophy for completing the season" for young kids. Because damn it, you can pry my finishers' medals out of my cold, dead hands, and as kids get older, they know what that trophy is for and it loses value. But for young kids, where just finishing a season can be an accomplishment, rewarding and encouraging that isn't inherently evil.)
Anyway, also still trying to lose weight this training cycle, and it's actually going pretty darn good. I'm losing maybe 1.5-2 pounds a week, which is good. I wouldn't seriously want to lose much more per week. (Although if the magical weightloss fairy came along with her magic wand and could get me to my goal, I wouldn't say no.) I'm not being too strict or even heavily doing Weight Watchers- I'm just trying to cut out useless snacking and empty calories. Since I had a lot of empty calories before, this is a sound strategy. I'm not totally cutting snacks, because with the amount of exercise I do, if my body is telling me it's hungry, I should listen. But I'm at least trying to make sure my snack has nutritional value- yogurt, for example, or fruit or hot chocolate made with milk. I'm definitely finding that if I go too low calorie-wise I have issues losing, and I don't want to do that anyway, since over half the point of wanting to lose weight is wanting to run better. Plus I've added strength work to my training, and I'm seeing some results, so there's always muscle mass to consider. But my jeans are fitting better, so all in all I'm pleased.
What I'm not super pleased with is my speed. I haven't done much speed work, but it seems like my long runs have gotten slower. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with being inside a lot, and I've been cautious, but I just feel slower than I did last year. But it's spring, so that's probably a lot of it right there. I remember afrakaday telling me spring marathons are for fun and fall are for time, and I definitely should be looking at it that way.
Okay. Enough about that.
I have gotten nothing done on anything I'm supposed to be writing today. Heck, I've gotten nothing done all day. I really need to get moving on some of these assignments, and I know I owe meta. But right now, I guess all I can think about is running. Sorry about that!
AND NEVER MIND, BECAUSE AS SOON AS I FINISHED TYPING I GOT MY EMAIL AND I AM IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!
This is the first time I've entered a lottery for a marathon, and I'm not sure I'm crazy about the experience. But there are a few big races I'd like to run, MCM being one of them, so I'd better get used to it.
I could try to get a charity slot, but honestly, I'm not so sure that's a good idea for me. For some people, it's great, but the charities I've looked at already are asking you to raise a minimum of $600, and most seem to be more around $1000. Which actually isn't too bad (I guess for NYC you have to raise between 3 and 3.5K, which FORGET IT). Problem is, I am lacking in two things: 1.) a cause very near and dear to my heart that people know I am personally invested in, and 2.) a good base of people for fundraising. Although I guess if I picked a Tumblr approved cause I could try there :) But you usually have to pay the money you don't raise, and I don't want to be paying an extra couple hundred dollars. Sure, worthy cause, but also my wallet, you know?
So, thinking about other races to run. On the one hand, I'd kind of like to do Space Coast, down in Florida. It's not that far from my parents, so my husband and I could drop off the kids, head down to Cape Canaveral for the night, I could run, and we could be back that day. Plus, the timing is during a time it's supposed to be a good time to go to Disney (late November/early December). I'm not sure we're financially ready to take that trip to Disney, though, so maybe I'll put that on hold for a year or two.
More realistic are the following:
1.) Baltimore Marathon
2.) Atlantic City Marathon
3.) Philly Marathon
4.) Bucks County Marathon
And still researching others. Baltimore is kind of in the lead right now. It's got a pretty decent reputation, we could make a fun family weekend out of it, and I don't have Maryland yet. Atlantic City is a little behind that, especially since there's a spring NJ marathon that I'd like to try running. I was supposed to run it last year, but that was the one where my MIL passed. I didn't register for it this year because I just didn't want to go back to that marathon the year after. Next year maybe though. The big downside of Baltimore is simply that it's the same weekend as the Hershey Half Marathon, which I love. But taking a year off Hershey isn't that big a deal, especially since I was considering suggesting that we go to Hershey instead of Dutch Wonderland when my sis and nieces visit this year.
I've done Philly twice, so it's lower on my list, but there are a few attractive things about it. Like I know what to expect, and it really is a great race. But the biggest thing is no hotel stays. Which could be good, depending on what our fall looks like. Because trying to balance two kids' sports, Howard's biking, Cub Scouts, and my races is not easy. And a lot may depend on what the boys choose for the fall. If they both go soccer, that makes life easier. If they choose two different things, that could be a lot harder. Bucks County is sort of the same deal.
There are a few others I'm looking into- Wineglass in NY, maybe something in the Outer Banks... I don't know. I think a lot depends on schedules and costs. Because all these races cost money :P
I also am debating the idea of running two marathons. Not sure that that's a great idea, though, and frankly, I think I'll wait and see how this Garden Spot-Delaware-North Face 50K trifecta goes before I attempt another double. Plus, someone kindly just posted an article about a 16 year old girl passing away at a half, and seeing stories like that always does scare me some. Long distance running does have its risks, and it's even scarier when it's a young person who by all accounts is healthy.
I'd also really like to put some half marathons in there. I've been focused on the fulls, but I like the half distance. It's much more sane, for starters, and a lot less stress on the body. I hate traveling for a half though, unless I've got someone to go with or something cool to do. It's also getting a LOT harder to get into the half marathons, because they're more popular, because most people are SANE. But there are a few I'm thinking. There's a Diva race in Washington DC, the Annapolis Half... sadly, I have to miss the Bird In Hand half. (If you run Garden Spot and Bird In Hand, you win the coveted Road Apple award! That's right- petrified horse poop as a trophy! But on a serious note, I love the Bird In Hand medal, which is a horseshoe.) One thing I have discovered- I don't like running half marathons in a race where there is a marathon. I want to go the whole way.
I've mentioned medals several times, and I've gotta admit, I love me my bling. (And I so want a Disney medal of some sort. They are GORGEOUS.) Medals have admittedly become a part of my selection process. Which some people really look down on, but you know what? Every time I see an article by someone who talks about how crazy bling is getting, or how people should enjoy running without it, EVERY TIME I notice they've run the Boston Marathon. Which (usually) means they're fast. And I wonder if they understand how much the medal means to those of us to whom crossing the finish line is still a huge accomplishment. I won't refuse to run a race because there is no medal (especially shorter distances), but I definitely prefer one for the full and the half.
(Also, those finishers' medals have totally changed my outlook on "everybody gets a trophy for completing the season" for young kids. Because damn it, you can pry my finishers' medals out of my cold, dead hands, and as kids get older, they know what that trophy is for and it loses value. But for young kids, where just finishing a season can be an accomplishment, rewarding and encouraging that isn't inherently evil.)
Anyway, also still trying to lose weight this training cycle, and it's actually going pretty darn good. I'm losing maybe 1.5-2 pounds a week, which is good. I wouldn't seriously want to lose much more per week. (Although if the magical weightloss fairy came along with her magic wand and could get me to my goal, I wouldn't say no.) I'm not being too strict or even heavily doing Weight Watchers- I'm just trying to cut out useless snacking and empty calories. Since I had a lot of empty calories before, this is a sound strategy. I'm not totally cutting snacks, because with the amount of exercise I do, if my body is telling me it's hungry, I should listen. But I'm at least trying to make sure my snack has nutritional value- yogurt, for example, or fruit or hot chocolate made with milk. I'm definitely finding that if I go too low calorie-wise I have issues losing, and I don't want to do that anyway, since over half the point of wanting to lose weight is wanting to run better. Plus I've added strength work to my training, and I'm seeing some results, so there's always muscle mass to consider. But my jeans are fitting better, so all in all I'm pleased.
What I'm not super pleased with is my speed. I haven't done much speed work, but it seems like my long runs have gotten slower. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with being inside a lot, and I've been cautious, but I just feel slower than I did last year. But it's spring, so that's probably a lot of it right there. I remember afrakaday telling me spring marathons are for fun and fall are for time, and I definitely should be looking at it that way.
Okay. Enough about that.
I have gotten nothing done on anything I'm supposed to be writing today. Heck, I've gotten nothing done all day. I really need to get moving on some of these assignments, and I know I owe meta. But right now, I guess all I can think about is running. Sorry about that!
AND NEVER MIND, BECAUSE AS SOON AS I FINISHED TYPING I GOT MY EMAIL AND I AM IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!