Saturday, December 4, 2010

2011 Marathon??


I have secretly wanted to complete a marathon ever since I knew what they were. However in the last 6+ years I've been afraid my bad knees would suffer and training for one would do permanent damage. So I settled for running half marathons (13.1 miles of sane fun) and 10-mile races.

Then I read "Born to Run" and discovered the art of forefoot running (read about my findings here). And I've noticed that my knee pain is almost non-existent. I still can't run for longer than 3-4 miles in my vibrams but it's helped me none the less. So now I'm inspired!

I want to do a less sane race, I want to run until I feel I can't run any longer and then run some more. I want to test myself....I want to run a marathon.

2011? My preference would be to run the NYC marathon since I live there. But it's so hard to get into. I've applied for the lottery and will find out in the spring. I was thinking about doing NYRR's 9+1 program but that would mean delaying the marathon until 2012. Now I'm looking into doing the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in Albany, NY. Anyone ever run this one? ~~Update: I am going to run the Steamtown Marathon in PA~~

Requests:
  • Any good training programs, inspiring running books/quotes?
  • Recommendations for a NYC marathon substitution? I would prefer the cheapest option (i.e. I won't be paying for a flight + hotel to do the Las Vegas marathon for example)

4 comments:

  1. I was wondering what has been keeping you from running more than 3-4 miles in your vffs?

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  2. Simple answer -> It hurts. I haven't been the best about continuing to work my why up to longer distance. The husband can run for 10 miles without any problems. Once it gets warmer again, I'm going to try to get my feet and leg muscles use to it.

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  3. Dude good luck with training. My friend Tom from undergrad completed a Marathon a few years ago and really felt a sense of accomplishment from it.

    http://www.hornetjuice.com/marathon-quotes.html

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  4. Thanks Selina! It reminds me of all the funny/inspiration quotes I read on posters during the Indy 500 half-marathon I ran years ago.

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