Marathon Redux

Well, this morning was extremely frustrating. It was a beautiful day for a run - not too hot, clear skies. But my knee pretty much kept me from running in the Good Neighbor's Day 15k. I jogged the 5k with Mom, but I'm paying for it now. I probably shouldn't have done it at all.

Anyway, I was so upset that I decided to find a new race to focus on and begin training for. I would like to do a marathon/vacation thing. I would love to do a marathon in Alaska or something, but that's mostly wistful thinking. Plus, most marathons are finished for the summer - the next series of marathons are in November.

There are two possible races. I briefly considered the Columbus Marathon, but it is too close to a major exam. Since there are better races, I threw it out. However, The Harrisburg Marathon and The Philadelphia Marathon are both potential races.

The course for the Harrisburg race looks better, plus it is closer and cheaper. But, it is two days before an exam. The location means I would have to leave at 3:30am from Pittsburgh to get to Harrisburg on the day of the race.

On the other hand, the Philly marathon is the weekend before Thanksgiving. It is more expensive and more hilly, but I think it is a more convient race. The week of thankgiving only has two days of class before the break. So, academically, I would be able to go to the race without worrying about studying. Plus, since it's in Philly, I could drive home Friday evening and spend the weekend at home. Depending on the lecture schedule - maybe I could just stay home and skip a couple of days. Or I could drive back to Pittsburgh Sunday evening after the race.

So, I think I will go ahead and start training for the Philly race. I'll have to begin the second week of August. If I still feel good, I'll go ahead and register in October. I doubt I'll run a good time, but it'll give me something to work on.