In Other News...

So I think it's about time that I set some goals and get back to training again. I just read an article on Runners World about qualifying for Boston and let myself stop focusing on the pain of training and start thinking about the thrill of realizing this longtime dream. PS: shoutout to Rodale for reading my whiney blog post about not getting my magazines and graciously extending my subscription. Never underestimate the power of social media!

Of course, this dream just got slightly less realistic now that the Boston qualifying times have changed. Ugh. I now have to finish a marathon in 3:35:00 or less (and not a second over that) in order to qualify. Just thinking of that makes me too tired to even calculate what kind of pace that is... but whatever it is, it's pretty darn fast.

Reading Kara Goucher's blog has only added fuel to the fire. That woman is a machine and such an inspiration. I can't wait to read her book.

Anyhow, I digress...

The first step will be to start physical therapy and get this knee working again.

Step two will be to find a running program I can manage and set some short-term goals (maybe train for a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon? yes, actually train for it, and not wing it because it's "just a half"!). I'm seriously considering the program in the book Run Less, Run Faster because it only has me running 3 days a week (= awesome).

And finally, I better join a running group because there's no way I can do this alone! I'm setting my sights on the Detroit Marathon in October, but will also be doing the Philadelphia Marathon--or at least the half--in November (the amazing race organizers let me defer after I wrote them a letter explaining my injury last year - with a note from my doctor, of course).

So it's time to get cracking. No more procrastinating: my first physical therapy appointment is tomorrow!

The good news is that I will be able to train with my fiance for the Detroit Marathon. ;)

That's right, we're engaged!

Oh boy, here we go again…

The Dallas Half Marathon is barely history, and already I am thinking about other races. As feared, the Martens seems to have caught the racing bug and has set his sights on the Detroit Marathon this fall. There are a lot of pluses for signing up...

First, it's only $75! What a bargain! Second, the course is actually pretty cool, going into Canada (gotta figure out where to pin my passport) and back. Third, I am always happy to have a reason to go to the Great State of Pure Michigan and hang out with Jeff's fam. And fourth, as superficial as it sounds--the medal and race shirt look AWESOME.

I’ve always wanted to run a marathon with my man, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to take on another marathon yet…

Just the thought of having to get up before the sun and do 14, 15, 16, 18, 20-mile runs in the Texas summer heat makes me want to take a nap immediately. And when you add to that the physical therapy, running in pain, having to run when I’m exhausted, overworked and sleep deprived, having to run while on business trips, plus just HAVING to run, period.... Yeah, it adds up into a deadly combination pretty quickly.

Then again, if I managed to do a somewhat respectable half-marathon without training, I should at least be able to finish a full with very little training, right?

It’s not the race that I fear, I freakin’ love racing. It’s the long training runs, the commitment, and yes, actually, the 5lbs I usually gain when I’m training for a marathon (still haven’t figured that one out!).

This time around, I am thinking of following a schedule from the book Run Less, Run Faster (both concepts are extremely appealing to me). And I must say, running 3 days a week sounds a hell of a lot better than the 6-day training program I was on before...