Road to the Corps

Last year at this time, if you had told me that I would one day run a marathon, my reaction would probably have involved hysterical laughing, spraying milk/wine/soda out of my nose and rolling on the floor in a fit of cackling laughter.  For those of you who knew me prior to my new life as a runner, the closest I used to come to cardio was racing to the clearance section at DSW on Black Friday.  I worried about things like stilettos and overpriced jeans, not split times and tempo runs.  I've come a long way this year in terms of respecting myself and my body as well as the new found confidence that I have in myself.  So I have decided that 2011 will be the year that I run a marathon.  I have decided to run the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC.  Suzy and Leo have been drafted as my support team and will be responsible for collecting whatever is left of me at the finish line.

Given the more than 400 marathon choices around our country each year, I had a difficult time choosing the marathon that was right for me.  Other marathons that were on my list were The Disney Marathon in Orlando, The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati and The Good Life Fitness Toronto Marathon.  I knew I wanted a fun and exciting marathon that welcomed newbies.  I was looking for a marathon in a city that I was fairly familiar with but not in my home town.  But the biggest consideration was the time of year.  I wanted the proper amount of time to train, a good chance of comfortable weather conditions and I didn't want to run too close to my wedding in July.

After looking over all of my options, the MCM was the perfect choice for me.  The date for 2011 is October 30th (a Saturday).  Fall is my favorite season to run (great temperatures & beautiful foliage) and the date gave me enough time to train hard after my wedding.  The MCM also offers an expo the evening before the race where I will be able to meet up with other runners with a similar goal pace.  Since pacing is one of my biggest issues while running, a pacing group is just the thing I will need during a marathon. It will also be exciting to see parts of DC and Arlington that I've never seen before and from a different perspective.

I will be running the Buffalo Half Marathon in May as an early test run to figure out what pace I can shoot for in DC.  So, with registration starting on February 23rd, the countdown begins!