Marathons, Triathlons and a Thought

I remember running my first marathon and not ever wanting to run again during that marathon but my memory is short and I was determined to have a better showing so I ran again the following year. Things have changed over the past 6 ½ years since that first marathon and I have now started and completed more marathons as I live in recovery than prior. I have completed three marathons in the last seven months and this is the most amount of running I have done in my life.

I think the “training” I had over the 19 ½ months prior to running these races has something to with my ability to complete these marathons. My family is very funny because when I completed the Long Beach Marathon back in October and when I completed the Arizona Rock n’ Roll marathon this past weekend their first question was when I would be running a marathon next!!! Yes, indeed this was their first question and I had to laugh because after completing a 26.2 mile run I am really not thinking about running another marathon and thinking back to that first marathon I know I have come a long way.

I didn’t make my way to the gym this morning as I am “taking it easy this week” but I do feel very good. In fact I feel better this week than I did heading into the marathon last week. Last week I was having aches in both of my quads which are very unusual but this week those aches have gone away. There is a local marathon this weekend and maybe I will attempt another shot at qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Only joking I am crazy but not that crazy. There are crazier people out there who have run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days. Yes, that is correct 50 consecutive runs of 26.2 miles which is amazing. I doubt I would fare well enough if I ran this weekend but I think I could finish the marathon but would be woefully short of my time goal so now I have my sights set on doing another marathon.

The next “local” major marathon is at the end of May and it is a marathon that I have done three times. This is the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Marathon and this is a family favorite. There won’t be any misunderstandings at the finish line because my wife is well versed in the finishing area and we know San Diego very well. This would also five me four months to prepare which could be a benefit or detriment. I would prefer to do another marathon in about three months which would be the middle of April. I have looked for some local marathons but those local marathons appear to be more on the hilly side which is not conducive to a personal best. There is a marathon in Salt Lake City which is literally a “downhill” marathon but that would be much too costly.

As I was browsing around for the marathons I encountered a site that ranked the top 10 marathons and the top 10 marathons to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I was happy to see the San Diego Rock n’ Roll marathon in the top 10 marathon list but the other 9 I have not run. The top marathon was of course the Boston Marathon which is the pinnacle of marathon running followed by the Chicago and then New York Marathons. There were a few marathons that were “easier” to qualify for the Boston Marathon and one of those was the St. Georges Utah Marathon which is a downhill marathon. This is more downhill than the Salt Lake City Marathon but that isn’t run until October.

It is funny because when I lived in Las Vegas I knew someone who had just started running marathons and they would talk about this marathon as being “easier” than most. Back then this was foreign to me but now I completely understand the meaning. I don’t care if the entire course is one downhill stretch running 26.2 miles isn’t an easy endeavor and it is quite an accomplishment no matter what. I do understand the “downhill” as opposed to those “rolling” hills marathon as being a bit easier but nonetheless it is still a marathon.

I am still really thinking about entering a triathlon and after come across the Ironman Triathlon website I was moved. The Ironman is the ultimate in the triathlon swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles and running 26.2 miles all in one day. The professional men finish in around 8 hours and professional women in around 9 hours. I was amazed looking at the results because a good majority of the 1,600 finishers had marathon finishing times faster than my personal best time. That last statement cannot be understated because prior to the marathon comes at least 6 hours of endurance racing in the water and on the road. I had a thought that I could finish this ultimate endurance test and qualifying for this event is another level. I would love to enter this race and of course finish but I am getting way ahead of myself. First off I need to enter a regular triathlon and I need to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I think I can combine these two in my training and I know it will be a great deal of fun.