I signed up for the Cleveland Marathon on Friday, which drastically changes my approach to the whole year. I have been indecisive about what to do this spring for a couple of months now – while the Shamrock Half Marathon is my No. 1 priority, I believe that a spring marathon will only enhance my experience in Virginia Beach in March.
With doing some initial planning, the timing is perfect — Shamrock is 9 weeks before Cleveland; this summer I ran the Lynchburg Half Marathon 9 weeks before the Baltimore Marathon. My planned mileage and long runs before Shamrock really don’t change all that much by signing up for the marathon.
I have had a lot of thoughts wrapped up in my head about a spring marathon, and it’s relieving to finally have the chance to get them out. As I hinted yesterday, this hasn’t been an easy decision.
- Of all the possibilities for a spring marathon, Cleveland makes the most sense – it’s less than an hour from my in-laws, so I can make a dual-purpose trip to Ohio. As the marathon gets closer, I will explain that in more detail.
- Even though I have had a couple of really good springs in a row, I haven’t given myself the opportunity to see what training for a marathon is like in the cooler winter and spring months. A 20-mile run in April sounds pretty appealing right now.
- If I’m going to do two marathons in a calendar year, this is the year to do it. If things fall into place in me and my wife’s lives and careers this year, don’t be surprised if a future runner is added to the family “soon.”
- I kept having a nagging feeling to do something different. I don’t know where it’s coming from. Sure I’ll be doing Richmond in November, but I like “getting away” for races. My Baltimore weekend was a lot of fun, so this spring will be full of that with traveling to Virginia Beach in March and then Ohio in May.
- I wanted a new challenge. At one point in the past few years, I really thought I wanted to do an ultramarathon in the nearby mountains. That desire is still there, but it’s not something I’m ready for. I feel like I have something to prove on the roads before taking a leap to an ultra. The Mountain Junkies races, like Saturday’s race and last year’s Trail Nut 10k, give me a chance to gain more experience before I’m comfortable tackling more.
- Lastly, friends on Twitter spoke highly of Cleveland. There were definitely other options out there, but nobody said anything too negative about their Cleveland experiences to make another race jump to the top.
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