I've been trying to decide what my goals are for NODM. I ran the race last year and almost immediately knew that I wanted to run it again.Here's a picture of me from last year's race somewhere around mile 20. Don't I look like I'm having fun?
NODM was the race that made me excited about marathons again. I had completed five marathons up to that point: Portland 2001, 2002, 2003, RnR AZ 2004, and NYC 2004. And then I had a big, fat DNF at RnR AZ 2005. It was supposed to be my last marathon, my grand finale. So much for that, but what to do next? I couldn't end my marathon "career" with a DNF. (I'll have to tell you more about the DNF someday. In retrospect I'm glad it happened the way it did.) So back home I poured over MarathonGuide, looking for the perfect way to redeem myself. I wanted to give myself enough time to feel mentally refreshed and then do a full training program. But I didn't want to wait for a fall marathon. And I felt like I needed a change of pace from the big, urban marathons I had raced before.
NODM seemed perfect. A small-town marathon, relatively close to home, which in its few short years had developed a reputation for being very well organized. So I did it, had an overall good race, got a PR (yay!) and felt like I had redeemed myself after my previous DNF. But I still didn't feel like I had given it my all and run my best race.
So way back last fall I registered again for NODM. The plan was to ramp up my mileage, train a bit harder and go for a PR again. Well somewhere along the way (March?, April?) I started looking beyond the marathon to what I could do next. As of today, I'm registered for two 50K's and I can't get 50 miles off my mind.
So what are my goals for NODM? Should I go all out and strive for the best race possible? Should I think of it as just a training run for my future races? Are these two goals compatible? This is what has been on my mind lately. I guess I have nine days to figure it out. I'll keep you posted.
6 comments:
hehe, i am going to talk someone into running that 50 miler with me in October...hmmm, Sarah, your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier...count backwards from ten...now repeat after me, "I want to run the Dick Colling Firetrails 50 with Matt on October 6, 2006."
well, i know you will actually be ahead of me in that race, but you get the idea :)
You may just get your wish, Matt! But isn't Firetrails 50 on the 7th? One extra day to train makes all the difference in the world, ya know?
; )
Here I was telling you about NODM and you had already run it. I thought it was a wonderful marathon and am still trying to plot in my head how I can run it this year.
I doesn't start until 9am. Perhaps you can drive up that morning?
i think the two goals can be compatible!
I agree with Angie, I think both goals are compatible if not complimentary
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