Frustration

At the start of 2008 I was thinking about what I wanted to do for a race this spring. I decided I wasn't going to have the time and more likely the drive to train for a marathon (Boston) over the winter. A good second option would be a 1/2 marathon. My PR for the distance is a little weak at 1:24 and if I could break 1:23:00 I could qualify for the NYC marathon in November. The training would be a little less intense and I wouldn't mentally flog myself for cutting short miles as school work piled up.

Training has gone fairly well over the winter and if I have a good race I think I could sneak in a 1:22:xx. My 10K a few weeks back predicts a 1:22:00 so I am not pulling these numbers out of thin air. My only problem is finding a race. My only criteria is late March through April and within a 100 or so miles from my house. At first it was going to be Nashville in late April, which coincided with a visit to Heather's sister who lives there. That trip fell through. Then I started to thinking about the Runner's World Half Marathon. Full. Next popped up the Brooklyn half Marathon on April 26th.

Perfect. Heather has a 3 day weekend. Also, my friend Ian not only lives in Brooklyn but invited people to join him while he raced it. It is a fast, flat course and was also put on by NYRR, the same folks that run the NYC marathon so I wouldn't even have to prove my race time. On Monday I was booking a room in Brooklyn for that weekend and double checked the race date.... they moved it to May 3rd. WTF. Some complaint from Brooklyn residents and now it is a weekend later. A weekend that doesn't work as well. A weekend that also happens to have the Philly Broad Street Run. A weekend that throws a wrench into my plans.

So now everything is up in the air. If I don't race by May 3rd my time won't count for NYC 2008 and there doesn't seem to be another that fits the bill. I've had this ambiguous race date somewhere in the future all winter long and it has been driving me nuts. Now it is spring and I still don't have a definitive answer. I'll keep you posted.

Anyhow, my runs.

Friday. 5 easy miles on Forbidden Drive with my dog Boomer. Untimed and enjoyable. A little cool but calm and sunny. Probably around 8:15 pace.

Saturday, 13 not so easy miles on Forbidden Drive. Ran these a little faster than I would have liked and even with the huge Rex Hill which I extended all the way to Germantown Ave for a total of 9:00 minutes steady uphill, I still managed to average 7:25 pace for the run.

Sunday (Easter). I had a surprising 48 miles already under my belt for the week so I decided to take it off.