49 Alternatives to New York

Well folks, it looks like I won't be running NYC this year. I'm pretty bummed, but I know that I'll get there one day. In the mean time I've started thinking about other races I might do this year. As I've mentioned before, one of my big goals for 2010 is to qualify for the Maniacs by running 3 marathons in 3 months. There's a couple ways I could do this, and hopefully I'll decide soon!

I also have another goal that I've kept secret because it's so big and it's a really long-term goal. It's so huge that it's hard for even me to wrap my head around! But it's pertinent to my plans this year so here it is: I want to complete the 50 States - that is, run a marathon in each one! I'm well aware that this will take years, and that's partly why I want to do it, to keep me running well into my adult life. But there's no harm in getting a head start, right? I've already completed 2 (CA & WA), and in August I'll complete Nevada with the E.T. Full Moon Midnight Marathon, a unique race run in the middle of the desert near Area 51 in the middle of the night! The town is even called Rachel, NV so I couldn't resist : ) Since I can no longer run NY this year, I've been considering replacing it with another east coast race on my to-do list - the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C./Virginia. I figure I could run this in October, California International Marathon (in my hometown of Sacramento) in December, then maybe Disney World (FL) in early January?

Ahhh I have so many thoughts and ideas bouncing around in my head! I don't want to overload myself with races, but at the same time I want to run these while I can. I have a good base to work with and I'm young and have time. Who knows where life will take me in a few years, so I want to run what I can while I can. And honestly, I just love racing! I'll probably see how things go the next few months before making any solid plans. The last thing I want is to burnout from marathons, so we'll see what happens. I would love to hear any opinions/suggestions you have!

My roommates and I did our 6 mile tempo run tonight and I felt strong the entire time. I hope this is a sign of improvement! It was a gorgeous evening and perfect weather for a run : ) No crazy gusts of wind like last week! Our tempo miles were 9:17, 9:19, and 9:21 which makes me happy as a clam!