Marathon Dreams...

I think back but can't remember when the seeds of desire were first planted... I'm sure it had to do with the Olympics in '84, or cross country training in high school. I've always wanted to run a marathon.

My first attempt was scheduled for 1995, six months after the birth of my first son. I was going to run the LA Marathon and beat my brother's time (which I need to verify, but I think was around 4:30). Life was much more complicated then and there was no way I could accomplish such a goal as a single unmarried mom with an infant (if only I'd had the money for a jogger stroller and hours and hours to run).

Somewhere in 1998, I set my sights on Chicago. Why? I have no idea. I didn't have a good plan. I didn't finish training. Never came close to even registering.

2002 was my next LA Marathon attempt. I ran for hours with Andrew on his bike beside me. I paid my registration. I had a plan, and I was ready. 3 weeks before the race, I was driving Andrew to school in the #2 lane, and a woman in the #1 lane decided to make a right hand turn right in front of my car causing me to t-bone her car and mess up my back for a while. Nothing serious, and Andrew was just fine. But enough to once again, knock my plans to rubbish.

So now it's 2010. I've been running since last October. I've been training hard, gradually increasing my distances. I've got races on calendar through this October of varying distances - a half-marathon in September, and a brutal 10K of hills in October. I'm going to run another half-marathon in January. My miles will be there. I'll have built up enough endurance by next year.

My sights are set, but I have a lot to do before I can get there. I will qualify for and run the Boston Marathon before 2015.

What does qualifying require? I have to run another qualifying marathon in 3:45 or LESS before I'm 40, or 3:50 before I'm 45. What does that mean? That means I have to run 26.2 miles in 8:30/mile or faster.

Here's the plan. On January 23rd, I'm running the Carlsbad Half-Marathon. I'll already have a half under my belt from this September, so I think I can just use this one in Carlsbad as a training race. Then, on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb 6, 2011, I'm going to run my first full marathon, the Surf City Marathon. It's a qualified course, so it'll give me my first attempt. Then, I'll also sign up for the June 2011 San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon, another qualified course. That'll be my two attempts next year, and if I am able to stay healthy and uninjured between now and then, I'll have a definite shot at qualifying!

Seriously. I could be running the Boston Marathon in April of 2012. Just sit and think about that.

I'm psyched.