Change of Plan

So...I was supposed to be doing a better job of blogging regularly! Yikes. I actually have two race updates (the Badass Texas Half-Marathon in Waco on May 26 and the Dallas Running Club White Rock 'n Roll 5 Mile Race on June 1) as well as a whole change in plan regarding my Boston pursuit. So there is a lot to catch my non-existent readers up on! ;-)

I think the biggest update since my last post was that I have decided NOT to register for the Erie Marathon in September which was to be my BQ attempt for the 2020 race. A number of factors went into my decision to forego that race. A major reason was my attempt to be more financially responsible. See, I'm a single public school educator with a mortgage and I'm turning 40 this year. I have been trying to do better about saving and doing all the responsible adult things like building a healthier emergency fund, paying off debt (my car being first priority), putting more into my IRA, etc. etc. Things I should have been doing since I turned 22 but hey, better late than never. However, being single also makes me walk this fine line between....YOLO! You have no responsibilities other than yourself, go seize the day and travel! Do the things you want to do while you can do them! Book that trip! Run that race! Go to that country! AND the other side of the line....yo, Rachel....these bills, this house, your future retirement...that's all on you, b. So yeah, figuring out that balance the past year or two has been a bit of a struggle as I have had to learn to sacrifice and say no to more things that really sound fun and really sound like things I want to be a part of. So as I started to think about the timeline of the next few months, I began to realize that I might be biting off more than I could chew budget-wise. First of all, it was not cheap to fly to Erie, PA. I would need to purchase that flight, pay for that race registration and lodging....all a week or two before needing to pay a hefty application fee to Boston Marathon if I did indeed reach my goal of running the BQ time. Shortly after, I would need to have funds set aside for an expensive weekend and experience at the NYC Marathon in November (flight, lodging, race jacket, etc.). I am turning 40 in November and want to go on a memorable fun trip to celebrate that milestone...which will require travel funds. THEN from what I've heard, the Boston Marathon weekend itself is not cheap. Lodging, transportation, etc are all extremely expensive so I'd need to be prepared for that trip just a few short months later. Not to mention the fact that my full-time job is at a school and we only have a limited number of personal days within a school year. To travel for 3 marathons in one school year would be quite difficult to arrange without having to fly back immediately after the marathons on the same day to be at school on Monday (and with Boston I would need to take a Monday and Tuesday at least off from work). I started to be overwhelmed with just the logistics of so much travel and the budget required alone. I had to have the hard talk with myself that it just wasn't realistic or compatible with my other financial goals...not to mention that I still need to be a reliable employee at my job and as a CG trainer.

Then I began to consider just how much running and training would be involved in a short period of time. I am hardly up for one marathon per year, much less three marathons within a span of 6-7 months (September, November, and April). I'd already need to be ramping up my marathon training to be ready for an early September race at this point in the year and July would be a key month for that marathon build-up. But I'm also registered for CG Games on July 20 and 27 and I will be on a cruise the following weekend, August 3...so that's three weekends in a row at the height of training that my long runs would be compromised. Not a good look when you're trying to build up to a PR marathon.

Originally I wanted to try to run this BQ before the September application window opened so I could not have the pressure of trying to qualify in NYC and so that I would not have to defer this dream another year. Who knows how long I will be healthy and running well? However, as I began to consider all of the factors above, I just came to the realization that it would be better to spread things out and take my time with the journey. Therefore the race calendar has changed! Without the September marathon looming, I have decided to take June a little easier. A lot of shorter, easier runs just to hold on to my base fitness but to give myself somewhat of a break and focus on other things (getting ready for CG Games) before starting a marathon build-up. I am still debating on whether I will train with Run On or DRC (again for financial and scheduling reasons) but either way I probably won't start following a marathon training plan until July. That will give me 4 months to train for NYC. My new strategy is to train hard and be prepared to run a BQ time there, although it might be more challenging to accomplish there than in a place like Erie. If I don't get a BQ time in New York, I can then revisit doing a late spring marathon or an Erie Marathon type race in the fall of 2020. If I do achieve the BQ time in New York, I can then sort of take a break in 2020 from marathons and just do a lot more halfs and 10Ks and that kind of thing.

I must admit it is kind of a relief to only have to think about preparing for one race this fall (although I am going to do a half-marathon in Virginia Beach on Labor Day weekend but that should fall naturally into the marathon training buildup). Especially since my feet and plantar fasciitis have been acting up lately and this month I just haven't been feeling mentally ready to go full force into marathon prep. I've been enjoying getting a few other types of workouts in and trying to lean out a little bit which is hard to do when all I have time for is running. I still need to make my decision on training program/strategy for NYC but I at least have a couple more weeks to weigh those options.

So that's the update! Boston is still the long-term dream but I will no longer be unrealistically trying to make it happen in less than 3 months. Now I can give the NYC Marathon the love and attention and focus it deserves for the next 20 weeks or so!

Race recaps in the next post! :)