12 More Days…

Saturday I ran 15 miles and felt great. Really only felt tired at mile 15! This is good news for me because last year after Marine Corps I tried to run 10 prior to Richmond Marathon and ended up walk/running about 8 or so. Ran about 5.5 this morning with Becca and again felt great.

I have decided that I need to head to the basement and pull out the winter running gear today. I’m a wimp when it comes to cold weather. I wore a tank today under my mock turtle neck and then threw on a Brooks Nightlife Vest as well. OH and I wore gloves – ha – all that for 48 degrees!

Hopefully the weather will be the same two weeks from now. The perfect running temperature for peak marathon performance is low 50s.

I know some people might think I’m crazy for trying to race another marathon so close to my last one but I have a theory on back to back marathons. This will be my 6th time doing back to back races(yep I’ve done it every time). In 2003 after I ran my first marathon, Puff Daddy now know as P. Diddy ran his first marathon – NYC. I saw him run past me that year and something about the way he tossed his Poland Spring water bottle behind him without even looking to see who was back there really irked me. He beat my time. I had to beat his. I ran the Philadelphia Marathon and beat him by a couple of seconds – though I’m sure it would have been more if I had had a huge possy and camera crew running with me for the full 26.2. Philly had not been an after thought. 2004 I was in OK shape but had bad stomach problems at Chicago(no pr) and then ran Marine Corps quiet a bit slower than Chicago. Marine Corps was an after thought. In 2005 I was working the Chicago Marathon at the Moving Comfort booth and wanted to do Chicago as a training run(I was told numerous times I would be ruining my chance to PR at MCM). I did Chicago and PR’ed. I did Marine Corps and PR’ed. Going under 4 hours for the first time. Marine Corps was not an after thought. In 2008 I ran Marine Corps and qualified for Boston by going under 3:40. I felt that I had died in the last miles and thought I was in shape to go closer to 3:30 so I signed up for Richmond Marathon. I ended up running much slower at Richmond – due in part to the heat and do in part to the fact that I had already peaked that season. Richmond was an after thought. At the beginning of this year I ran Boston – again I had felt I was in good enough shape to get closer to 3:30 but ended up running slower than at Marine Corps. I decided two weeks later to give it another try at Potomac River Run Marathon. I ended up running slower, I had already peaked for that season. PRR Marathon was an after thought. And so here I am again running a 2nd marathon. I had planned on Marine Corps all along and signed up the first day registration opened. I signed up not that long ago for Freedom’s Run Marathon. Marine Corps is not an after thought – it was my original thought.

Here’s to hoping that my theory will hold true for MCM!!!

P.S. If you have run MCM in the past – note that the expo is now at a new location and that it’s only open Friday and Saturday.

P.P.S. The Reston Runners Tree is actually closer to the finish line than the start line for anyone who was planning on meeting up there