So when my sister asked if I was planning on signing up to run the LA Marathon again next year I decided to do it. Along with 11 other races throughout the year.
I decided that my goal for 2014 will be to run one race a month, a distance of 13.1 miles or more.
I have never done this many races in a year and I am really excited to attempt it. Having races lined up keeps me motivated and focused and I am started to get excited again.
This is a great time for me to make this goal for many reasons. I have paid off the rest of my debt and Patrick is finishing up with his. Once we are both out of debt we will focus more on saving for a house, but that is still a ways off. Secondly, the races are still far enough away that I am paying the least expensive price. Races tend to raise their prices the closer you get to race day, so as long as I am paying attention to sign up dates, I won't be paying an arm and a leg.
I'm really excited to run in a longer distance race again. The spectators, the race day experience and of course the bling are so worth it, in my opinion. Plus I have to go out with a bang!
I don't plan to stop running or stop racing entirely, but after Dopey, it would be financially wise for me to cut back to 1-3 races per year. It only makes sense to run all the races now and make it through Dopey while I can afford it. You know, before we buy a house and we're putting all of our money towards that.
I decided a while ago that I needed some running goals. Something I could work towards, train for, reach. I always work harder physically when I have a goal in mind.
So I decided to run 12 half marathon (or longer distance) races in the 2014 calendar year. I chose this goal so that I would constantly be training for something year round and as an attempt to not lose the running bug. So far the decision has proven to be positive as I am so excited to start training and so excited to see what limits I can push myself to.
I immediately began signing up for races for 2014, or at least for the months that were available. I planned out the races I knew I wanted to participate in, even if the registration was not open yet and as a way to plan out my year. I have been periodically checking active.com and other sources for updated racing dates and times for next year so that I will know when to register and what will be needed for those races (registration costs, traveling, support, training, etc.)
While searching for my next open month (May 2014), I came across an interesting race. Mountains 2 Beach. They have both the half marathon distance and full marathon distance available. It took me a little while to decide on what to do.
On one hand I knew that I may not want to run a marathon two months after finishing LA. On the other, I probably would.
That was the worst feeling ever. To run a marathon and to continue to walk for over a mile before finally being able to sit.
My dad jokes that running 26 miles is easy that it's the 0.2 miles that will get you. I have always and will always disagree and say that it's the walk back to your car.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to yell. I wanted to sit on the curb and protest walking. I wanted someone to pick me up and carry me. I wanted to never, ever run a marathon again. And that is exactly what I told Patrick when I finally made it to them. "I am done. I don't ever want to do this again."
I think there's something called Runners Amnesia. It's best defined here.
"Runner’s Amnesia: a condition in which a runner’s memory is lost. In specified cases, the horrible mental and physical agony experienced from racing began to fade, and the endorphins from running seemed to morph those memories into fond, happy experiences in which the runner had very little to no recollection of the pain and negative experiences that occurred. In the most severe cases, this also resulted in the runner signing up for more, sometimes even harder events."
I relate it to child birth. Granted, I never physically had to give birth, but I did go through 9 hours of labor without any pain medication and with the nurse ever so kindly continuously upping my dose of pitocin as often as she could. It hurt, there's no question about it, but as soon as I could hear the cry of my daughter in the operating room nothing else existed. The pain was gone, the fear was gone, there was nothing to think about but that little girl. And I have been wanting another child for a while now.. Amnesia.
It only took about 5 days to decide that I wanted to keep running and that I most likely would run the LA Marathon again in 2014. And now here I am doing the full marathon for Mountains 2 Beach in May of 2014.
Hopefully the amnesia will kick in as quickly as it did last year.
And hopefully I don't get burnt out. I know that it's a lot and I know that I am going to be exercising and running and training like a crazy person, but you have to be pretty crazy to run a marathon and half crazy for the 13.1 distance. I found my passion and I'm going to crazy it up for as long as I can!
Like I told my best friend the other day while we were out walking... I don't want to get to a point in my life where I can't run anymore and think "You know what I wish I would have done..." Instead I am going to run while I can and enter races while I can and enjoy the experiences.
Not everyone understands the need to pay to run. I don't pay to run, I pay for an experience and I have yet to regret these decisions. Each race is different and completely worth it and as long as I'm not putting it on my credit card and am paying my bills on time then I don't see the need to justify it. And I can tell you that I intend to continue to race until at least September of 2015, but it may be past then. Who knows at this point.
And then something else happened that changed my racing plans. I had been waiting and waiting for the registration to open for the Mammoth Mountain Half. I finally received notice of when the race will be, which helped because now I can plan my trip.
But then I started thinking about The Challenge. I found out about The Challenge for the first time last year at the LA Marathon expo. It was the first year and I was very interested in it. Unfortunately, the race in San Diego was the same month as the LA Marathon. I decided to just focused on signing up for the Mammoth half in 2014.
I didn't even think about it. I just decided that I would be running the LA Marathon again in March and then running the Mammoth half for my June race. No question. I went with what I knew.
But then I started thinking about it a little more.
And I talked to Lorien and Patrick about it.
And I thought some more.
It didn't take long to decide that I will be taking The Challenge in 2014. I decided on this because it is new and it is exciting and there is an extra medal that I will receive for completing it when I cross the finish line in June in Mammoth.
I made this decision and immediately purchased the package for both races. And then I had a slight panic filled, anxiety driven few minutes where I called Patrick to calm me down. I needed him to tell me that I made the right decision.
He did what he does best and listened to me while I had my irrational breakdown and came to my own conclusions on how I felt about it. The conclusion? I can’t wait to do both half marathons! Yes, it's slightly disappointing to not run two marathons next year, but I don't just get bling bling for these two races, I'll be getting some bling bling bling!
As of now this is my racing schedule for 2014. Once registration opens for the end of the year I will be signing up for those months. I may add in some 5Ks and 10Ks if they are nearby and not too expensive.
1/5/14- Camarillo Half
2/23/14- Seaside Half
3/9/14- San Diego Half
4/6/14- Hollywood Half
5/25/14- Mountains 2 Beach Marathon
6/22/14- Mammoth Mountain Half
2/23/14- Seaside Half
3/9/14- San Diego Half
4/6/14- Hollywood Half
5/25/14- Mountains 2 Beach Marathon
6/22/14- Mammoth Mountain Half
7/13/14- Shoreline Half Marathon
8/10/14- Arroyo Creek Half
8/10/14- Arroyo Creek Half
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