accountability

even before i ran my first marathon (myrtle beach marathon, feb 06) i made the seemingly common goal of running 50 marathons in 50 states (plus dc). i am usually an age-grouper and i just knew i could qualify for boston at myrtle. well back in those days i was a senior in college and when it came time to go for a 16+ mile run, i somehow managed to make excuses and skip the long runs. i got in about three, 12-14 mile runs prior to the big race and yup, you guessed it, i hit the wall hard around mile 16. i was forced to walk a lot, and slowly, but i must have been flying for those first 16miles because i finished with a time of 4:01.

so, didn't get boston, but i also didn't train that well. even though i learned my lesson and i know what i need to do to prepare for a marathon, i have pretty much rinsed and repeated for the baltimore marathon (oct 06), the sunburst marathon (jun 07) and the chicago marathon (oct 07). i've crossed off 4 states, and a measly 5 minutes off my marathon time (current pr- 3:56, sunburst).

i know my biggest hurdle is getting in my long runs, and i am hoping this blog will help hold me accountable. my next big race is the goofy challenge (jan 09) and i have many miles to cover between now and then. ultimately i would like to shave a full hour off my marathon time and run a sub-3:00, but i'm taking it one stride at a time.