Right now I'm trying to make a decision about which big race to run next. I just finished my first marathon and ended up qualifying for the Boston Marathon. (As a side note, I actually thought that I needed a finishing time of 3:30:59 or faster to qualify, so I was surprised that I ended up qualifying with my time!). After I finished the race, almost everyone asked if I was planning to run Boston . . . well, no! Running the Boston Marathon has never been a dream of mine. I figure I'll qualify for it again in the future, so I can run it then when we have more money.
So now I'm planning to focus on 5ks and 10ks this spring, hopefully will get my weekly mileage up to 40 miles per week, and in the summer I'll begin training for a fall marathon. I'm thinking of running the Chicago Marathon in October, but my "dream" marathon (in other words, if I could run any marathon in the continental US, this would be the one) is the NYC Marathon. Up until this week, I thought you could only register to run it if you were an elite runner (which I am definitely not!) or if you were selected through their lottery. Well, as it turns out, I am actually eligible to register for the NYC Marathon this year based on my finishing time from the 3M Half Marathon in January! So I should obviously sign up for it, right? The problem is that it will cost a ton of money for registration, airfare, hotel, and food. Not to mention childcare if we leave the kiddos at home.
The application for the NYC Marathon closes on March 15, so over the next week or so I will be spending some time in prayer trying to figure this out. God is such a good and patient teacher, and I am looking forward to learning what His will is for this next step in my life!! :-)
The Chicago Marathon seems to be the direction in which you are leaning -- to the Upper Midwest rather than to the Northeast -- lol! So I think we should present a proposal of leaving on Friday and returning on Monday.... air fares will be better then. And that way you can "catch your breath" before the race on Sunday. Either way, I think we should present a couple of proposals -- including costs and times. Looking forward to the trip, I am!! And your success!!
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