Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The Great Marathon Waffle

Waffling.  That's a verb, right?  You know, going back and forth about a decision - the whole "she loves me, she loves me not" kind of thing.  Waffling.  That's what I've been doing in regards to my 2015 running goals.

I know what I want to do: Run a Boston Qualifying marathon.  My running buddy qualified for the 2016 Boston at MCM (Marine Corps Marathon) this year.  As such, I think it would just be so cool if we ran it together.  But, that means I have until September to qualify.  Unfortunately, most BQ marathons are run in the fall.  :(  So, I have a bit of a dilemma.  Hence the waffling.

I'm trying really hard to be realistic here.  Something I'm not very good at when it comes to my running.  For instance, I ran a half marathon 11 weeks postpartum when I really had not trained for that kind of long distance.  Did I finish?  Yes, with a fairly decent time (all things considered).  Was it pretty?  Nope!  I wouldn't say I got injured, but I was walking like the Tinman for the next 2 days.  Which has not happened since I ran 26.2 miles.  Maybe my age is catching up to me...

Anyways, back to realistic goals.  I am now a stay at home mom, which means I don't have to fit my training around my work schedule.  The thing is, I'm now a stay at home/single-parent mom 4-5 days per week (due to Hubby's new job), which means I have 2 small children to consider and work around.  Which means running solo will be a rare treat.  Which means a lot of time running with a double stroller.  In the winter.  Hmm....  So, is it realistic to be breastfeeding an infant, chasing a 2 year old, and train for a marathon without having Hubby coming home every night?  I just don't know.  Should I attempt a spring and fall marathon?  What about the other races I really enjoy?  The Monument 10k in late March, Historic Half Marathon in May, Richmond Marathon in November?  Should I look for a destination spring marathon, as a sort of family vacation, despite the prospect of packing/relocating in the middle of summer?  Or should I just train for a fast 10k and half marathon and save the marathon for the fall?  

At the moment, I'm very open to suggestions.   
Does anyone have a favorite spring marathon, preferably in the months of late April, May, or June? 

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