Two Strikes

So, I had three goals for my running for 2009:

1) Qualify for "Corral A" seeding for the 500 mini-marathon.
2) Be one of the top 500 finishers of the 500 mini-marathon.
3) Qualify for the Boston Marathon.

While I turned in multiple race times that qualified me for "Corral B", I was always a bit short of the top level. Strike One.

This Saturday, I completed the mini-marathon in 1:35:40 -- about 7 minutes shy of the 500th finisher. Strike Two.

I suppose I could blame it on the inconsistent weather at the beginning of the year, or having a newborn baby that plays havoc with sleep schedules, but the bottom line has been that for the past 6 months or so, my training has not been as strong or as intense as it had been last summer, and I have not improved as much as I had targeted.

Still, I know I should be pleased with the results. As many of you know, up until a couple of years ago, I was one the most Non-Athletic people you've ever met. As a kid, I was always the scrawny wimpy kid who got picked last for the kickball team. As my metabolism shifted in college, I became the fat guy who wouldn't even wander near the kickball team. I've gone from getting winded walking across the house to running 13.1 miles in under 96 minutes. This whole running-thing is still fairly new and exciting and I am improving by strides (pun intended). But, repeatedly falling "just shy" of my targeted goals is frustrating.

Before I switch my training into "full-marathon" mode, I will be running the Geist Half Marathon in less than two weeks. In order to qualify for Boston, I will need to run a full marathon in under 3:15 -- as a gauge to my progress, since I am running two half-marathons within a two week period, I am targeting a combined time from the two halves to be under that 3:15. Since I ran "the mini" in under 1:36, that means running the Geist Half in under 1:39.

Currently, my first scheduled 26.2-mile race is the Indianapolis Marathon in October. With my three month training plan, I would theoretically be ready to run my first Full in August or September -- unfortunately, Summer does not seem to have a wealth of Marathon opportunities, at least not in this part of country. There is one in mid-September in Dayton, but would require an overnight stay before the race, which raises the cost of participation considerably beyond the base entry fee.

Ran a two-mile "recovery run" this morning -- it was pretty brutal, nearly 19 minutes to complete those two miles, but I feel much better and looser than I did before the run. Hopefully I can be back to race condition in time for Geist.