Races in 2009?

Hi fellow runners! 

I'm interested to know what races everyone is running this year.  I'll be doing the Indianapolis Mini Marathon in May, and the Marine Corps Marathon in November if all goes well. 

Hey everyone, good luck in your races this year!

I joined NYRR in 2007 and run their races all the time.  They vary from 5K's to half marathons.  By running in at least nine races and volunteering for one of them, you can earn a guarateed spot in the following NYC Marathon.  In 2008, I ran 11 races and volunteered for a women's only marathon, so I'm eagerly awaiting the email that guarantees my entry for this November!  It should come any day now!  Yay!

I'm planning on running the Indianapolis Mini Marathon as well! It will be my first mini, so I'm extremely excited/nervous. Any training tips from any of you veteran mini-marathon and marathon runners?

jordielg,

Runnersworld.com has some great training programs. Find one and stick to it. You can't just wing it if you training for a half or higher. You'll most likely end up with an injury or under prepared.

This year I plan on running the St. George (Utah) marathon in October. Great race. Very scenic and well run. Also a good Boston qualifier. The race starts at 5,200 feet and ends up at about 2,500. It's a lottery. Registration starts April 1st and ends May 1st. This year they are letting in 7,200.

There are lots of us training for lots of events in 2009.  I'm interested in hearing how everyones training is going.

I am about two weeks behind schedule, mostly due to SNOW, and it is snowing again today.  I live on Vancouver Island and we are not used to this endless snow.  All the trails I normally train on are covered in knee deep snow.  I do use Yak Trax but it seems all my runs are taking a lot longer and I feel more fatigued afterwards.

I guess it is time to take on some road runs as I have to sneak in a a couple extra kms in my long runs to get back on my schedule.

How about everyone else?  Training challenges or great training accomplishments to help keep the motivation going?

Bev

Bev,

I also am about 2 weeks behind, but because of an injury. I ride horses also and I had to hop on one for a quick school without stirrups. Add bucking and slippery saddle, and i wound up pulling my groin muscle a bit (but I stayed on!). I then irritated it with my "It's not that bad. Just need to work out the kink." attitude and ran on it the next day. Put me out for a week and a half just when I was really gaining some momentum.

I have been walking and cross training on low impact stuff to keep up my cardio while it heals and hope to begin running again tomorrow (I have no weather excuse here in FL. It's not rainy season yet).

So, I will be right alongside you trying to sneak in those few extra kms to get back up to speed.

Hope everyone is doing well and getting excited about their races!

Kelly

Sometimes, time off due to an injury actually makes you stronger when you get back at it.  Good luck with your training, I hope your run goes well tomorrow! 

We just got another dump of snow today!  I guess I will be running on icy roads tomorrow.

 

I'm also nursing an injury - my right knee has been bugging me lately and I've decided to lay low with the running for now until it heals up a bit.  It has me really bummed though.  The elliptical and the bike just aren't the same as running :(  I've been icing the knee like crazy, working on stretching, and someone suggested glucosamine/chondroitin to me so I think I'll give that a try as well.  Hope to get back out there soon but I don't want to do anymore damage.  I'm planning on a 10K at the end of April and my half is at the end of June - don't want to miss those races.

Hi, I just joined but I saw danicahenry was running in the Indi- Mini marathon...which I am as well! So that was exciting to find out! I am also running the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago (8K) at the end of March, a 3K at the end of April, and in addition to the Indi-Mini in May I am running a 10 mile race at Soldier Field in Chicago at the end of May. I am still debating the Chicago Marathon in October, I tried it last year but did not train well enough due to my schedule and had to drop out at mile 17....so I am hesitant. But...I would really like to do the Tucson marathon in December so the Chicago marathon would set me up well in terms of my training. I really need to make up my mind!! has anyone done the Tucson marathon?

ras, my knees also give me trouble and it IS frustrating. I have to be super careful and not push my training schedule much. Just stick with it, go slowly and ICE ICE ICE!! The glucosamine helped me a bit, but what really helped me were some strengthening exercises done alittle at a time like lots of lunges (being very careful of form) and one legged squats and such. It sounds wierd, but really make sure your hamstrings are strong too. Women tend to hyper-extend our knees when we walk and run and having strong hammies helps with that and preventing injury because of it.

Don't give up! Just take it slow. :)

Don't give up! Just take it slow. :)

That is the key! I try to follow my running plan in the same way I follow my eating plan.  Take it slow, don't give up, celebrate each accomplishment along the way.  I see each step as an accomplishment, the long term goal is just another benefit to look forward to.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I think my knee feels a tad better today so I'm going to continue to lay low with the running this week - cross training only - and keep icing it.  I also just bought some glucosamine, so hopefully that will help too.  I'll see how I feel this weekend to see if I can start back again  - A LITTLE AT A TIME!  I really don't want to overdo it or injure myself (again).

Original Post by embracing50:

I see each step as an accomplishment, the long term goal is just another benefit to look forward to.

Very well put. :) Not only is our ultimate goal a marathon (or half), the training journey itself is a marathon and not a sprint. It's a long road and won't be fast, but it will be OH SO rewarding to cross that finish line after all of our hard work and sweat! Each day is a new goal reached, a new challenge beaten, and a new sense of accomplishment, all on the road to lifelong health, which is what we're really after, anyway. :)

I just wanted to put in a little HUZZAH for pain free running! :)

2 pain free 5 mile runs and I'm glad I waited to let the leg heal. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it feels good to be back!

Good for you, Kellybee!  I'm so jealous.  I'm still nursing my knee injury by just cross training at this point but it seems to be slowly improving.  Don't want to push it.  Many more happy, painfree runs to you!

You'll get there, Rasmom! It takes a lot of willpower to stay on the elliptical and keep my pace at a walk for those weeks, especially once the leg feels better at those paces, but it pays off. Slow and steady. I always jump in too soon after an injury so I've been on again off again for months and months. I finally had a friend help force me to sit it out for an extra couple of weeks to make sure and it was definitely a good idea (thank you, Annie!).

It's not worth putting yourself back in the recovery starting box to eek out that extra 1 or 2 runs. I have done that too many times. Do it right and come out stronger than you were. And you WILL come out stronger too!

 

Today will be hard just because i have to take a day off (take my own advice and don't push too hard too fast) but I'm so excited, I want to run again. Slow and steady, Kelly, slow and steady. :)

Hello fellow runners,

It is official, I am going to run the Santa Cruz half marathon on April 19 and I just found out that I got selected through random drawing that I am running the Nike Women's Full Marathon in San Francisco this coming October.

Very exciting....

Hey all!

New to the group but would love to join!

My names Caroline and I'm a 23 yr old New yawker (hehe).  heading down to Nashville April 25th for the country music marathon (first full)!!! Yee haw

I just signed up for the Nightlife 5k in Alexandria, LA.  This will be my second 5k.  I am trying to beat my time in December of 36 minutes. 

Good luck, nsula!! I am running a 5k in a couple of weeks also on the 25th. Aiming to shave off some time as well and looking for 27 mins if possible!!

I'm looking forward to my first 10K in two weeks.  Not too concerned about time as it's my first 10k and I had some knee issues about a month ago that slowed my training.  Should be fun.  Hopefully, the weather will be nice.  Good luck with your races everyone!