Revised (and Final) Schedule

My Park City Marathon post included what was then the schedule I intended to pursue in the coming months. Among the many lessons learned from my year long running effort it is that life demands one maintain flexible plans.

After eight months in 2009, I have completed nine marathons. Of the nine, only four were on the calendar I put together back in January. Flexible scheduling has been the key to making it all happen (along with a healthy pile of Delta SkyMiles).

Since last week, I have revised my fall running schedule. The background story is that both of our daughters are part of the Briarwood Christian School marching band. Hannah is the drum major. Moriah plays the mellophone. Since high school games are typically played on Friday nights, I try to avoid missing those events. But I also want to return home as quickly as possible in an effort not to spend my entire weekend on the road. Thanks to a Thursday night high school football game in early October, I decided to search for a marathon that would permit travel on Friday afternoon, run on Saturday morning and a return trip home on Saturday evening.

I have often referenced marathonguide.com as my information source on marathon schedules. If you ever decide to run 26.2 miles, consult the marathonguide.com website to find a comprehensive listing of races, locations and runner comments on each event.

A successful research on marathonguide.com has me swapping a mid-October trip to Columbus, Ohio for an early October trip to Greensboro, North Carolina where, on October 3, I'll be running the Triple Lakes Trail Race Marathon. I'll be running hills and trails, which will make for a great challenge, but the race won't be at the altitude of my other summer runs, which included trail runs in Arizona and California. Running in early October will also provide me with four weeks to recover in advance of the New York City Marathon. In fact, once I make it through Tupelo (which will be my fourth turnaround of two weeks or less) I will have at least four weeks between each of the final four events.

So, the calendar will be (I think) as follows (with some comments about each):

Sunday, September 6 Tupelo Marathon in Tupelo, Mississippi

I have completed this marathon on two previous occasions. It's a 2 1/2 hour drive from Birmingham and consists of a relatively small field of runners. It will be warm and humid, with a few small hills. The marathon start time is 5 a.m., which means the first hour is run in darkness. There are no crowds, you run primarily on country roads, and the finisher's medal is a skull and crossbones. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to running this marathon...much nearer sea level...with familiar surroundings...and great people!

Saturday, October 3 Triple Lakes Trail Race Marathon Greensboro, North Carolina

I only know what I have read on the website. The marathon is run primarily on a single lane trail, with a few hills. It does not appear to be a large event, so it will likely be a quiet run through the woods.

Sunday, November 1 ING New York City Marathon New York, New York

New York, New York! I have truly enjoyed many of the 34 marathons I have completed, but New York is special. I completed the 2007 ING New York City Marathon on a wonderful day to run. The marathon begins on Staten Island. The first mile is run on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which empties in to Brooklyn. The marathon covers all five of the City's boroughs, with a finish in Central Park.

Sunday, December 13 NexBank White Rock Marathon Dallas, Texas

I have never run this marathon, but I have run around White Rock Lake in Dallas on many occasions. When preparing my schedule back in January, there were two "automatic" selections. The Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham was my February run was my first automatic choice, which meant I could sleep in my own bed the night before the race. Since we lived in the Dallas area for 11 years, the White Rock Marathon was the second automatic selection. I'm looking forward to New York, but I'm really looking forwarding to celebrating the end of this quest with friends in Dallas.

Back to the running information, one week after Park City my legs are recovering well. I ran a bit over 8 miles today and felt strong at the end. I plan on 7 miles tomorrow (Monday), a reduction in mileage each day leading in to the Tupelo Marathon next Sunday morning.