by I just found out that our group got accepted for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco in October. I’m super excited! This means, sadly, that Palo Duro 50K will be out next year (they are the same weekend) but it will be fun to train with friends for a road marathon. I haven’t done that it years.
My friend Lindsey Watson put together a group. The way Nike works is that one person gets a group ID number and up to 10 people can submit together under that ID. If that ID gets picked, everybody is in; if not, you’re all out. This is MUCH superior to the NYC marathon lottery. I wound up going by myself to that after deferring one year because none of my friends made it it either time.
Lindsey and I met training for the Chicago Marathon with Mixon Henry several years back. We’re going to pull out the old Mixon schedule (my road marathon PR comes from Mixon’s training, as did hers I believe) and train together. Another friend, Kelley, is in this group as well — the other ladies I don’t know. Some are out of state.
It will be fun to have a destination running trip. My last few have been fairly low-key trail running events where several friends were also doing the event…quite different from starting out and setting a goal together, training together, and making plans together. Probably my last destination running trip with friends was, in reality, Ironman Coeur d’Alene back in ’08.
This helps me with my smart training decisions. I’ll need to balance my trail with the road over the summer, which will be a good thing. My smart plan may be pacing a loop at Cactus Rose (or not), 50K at Bandera (and a new PR), and then 50-miler at Rocky Raccoon. Followed by triathlon training for Coeur d’Alene and the 100-miler at Rocky as a 50th birthday present to myself.
I LOVE it when a plan comes together!!
Aww. I\’m thrilled for you, but sad for me, because my current tentative plan is to do Palo Duro this year as my first 50k. It\’d be way more fun if you were there!
Darn!
I love Palo Duro, and being there at your first 50 would have been awesome. Another friend of mine is planning her first 50K there as well, for her 50th birthday no less. Rest assured that I will be sending positive energy your way throughout the day if your current tentative plan turns into reality. Hopefully, you\’ll write a race report so I can live it vicariously.