Rite Aid Decisions...

Well, the Rite Aid Marathon is this weekend. And once again, after having decided to have nothing to do with it, I will be running it. Though this race is close to home, I've not been happy with it for a long time. The whole experience is hassle filled: from packet pick-up (which is even worse this year), to a very crowded race morning, to routing us through some really crappy parts of the city. Those of us who live on the south or west sides of town are really getting hosed this year as they've moved packet pick-up and the now obligatory-big-marathon-expo out to Euclid in a former Super K-Mart. Why do I keep signing up for this one? I have no (good) answer.

What I do have however, are some decisions to make as to what I will run this weekend. Here are my options:

1. Taper down the rest of the week and run the marathon as hard as I am able to, just to see where my fitness level is.

2. Run to the start of the marathon from Medina, an extra 26 miles, giving me a double road marathon for the day with the second marathon being fully supported.

3. Run on Saturday, up to marathon distance, so that I come into Sunday tired.

4. Run hard but smart during the race, then run long on Monday, giving me the chance to run tired.

The whole reason for my interest in running much more than 26.2 miles this weekend is to help simulate what I will be feeling during Burning River. If I'm not going to race Rite Aid, and I know I'm not in a position to try for a PR, then I might as well use it as a fully supported training run, which was probably my intention when I registered to run in the first place.

Happy 2011!

2010 is over, as 2011 will be in 364 more days! I was able to get one final run in for the year on New Year's Eve. I joined a nice sized group for a run out and back from Bonnie Park in Strongsville to the top of the Ridge Rd. hill in North Royalton for just over 13 miles. Then we did a two mile cool-down in the other direction. We were blessed with a warm front which proceeded to melt all the snow and give us 40 degree temps to run in. SHORTS! That was nice. Running in December in shorts! The temps rose even more later in the day so we took advantage and removed the Christmas decorations and washed one of the cars. Winter weather is supposed to return to normal tomorrow.

2011 is going to bring some changes. All for the better, but changes none the less. As I will be attempting to finish my first 100 mile race this year, my approach to training and diet is going to be more focused than ever before. I'm more worried about what this event will bring than anything else I've ever tried, including Ironman. So, having said that, here are my New Year's "Resolutions":

1. Cutting out all alcohol consumption. This is going to be tough at first, but I think it will get easier over time. I will have special times when it will be permissible for me to drink, like on my wedding anniversary and spring break, but otherwise I'm cutting out these empty calories.

2. Cutting out much of the junk I've been eating. As both the Mrs. and I will be following a better diet, this won't be so hard. The focus will be on consuming more protein as I need to add muscle, as well as also eating more whole foods and less processed foods.

3. Making the time to get my miles in. I have a training plan and I feel I need to follow it as closely as possible to give myself the best shot at finishing within the 30 hour time limit.

4. Making the time to cross train. This includes cycling, swimming, and weight training. I'm still considering getting a personal trainer to help guide me and keep me focused on hitting the weights.

One additional change doesn't affect my training at all, but rather my blog itself. Today I'm going to be starting a 365 photo series. One photo a day for the year. I've seen many others do it and it's something I've been wanting to do for a few years. This should be fun!

I will have some key words for the year too. They include:

Focus

Sacrifice

Effort

Motivation

It's time to get my "eye of the tiger" back. I didn't really have it last year. This year I need to get lean and mean. Any short-cutting will only lead to failure. This should be an interesting year!