Schedule for 2003
March - 20 K - A good warm up for Boston. I've never run a 20 K before - something new.
April 21 - Boston Marathon - This is the race I've been dreaming of for years!!
May - Midland Run 15k - Depending on how I feel after the marathon, I will try to run this. Its a local race and draws a very large crowd (including a lot of friends). Its also a beautiful course. This is one of my favorite races to run. I will frequently train on this course. Since its hilly, it serves a good workout.
NY Marathon November - Now that I've gotten into Boston, I can start focusing on other Marathons and not worry so much about time. After Boston, NY is an obvious one to add to the list. Its local and also includes a lot of friends. However, in some respects - Boston is easier to get into then NY. At least for Boston, I have some control over it (just train harder and qualify). For NY, the only way that makes sense for me to do is try to get in via the Lottery.
Schedule for 2002
April - NJ Shore Marathon: A very rainy day with 18 miles along the beach into a 20 MPH headwind. For the first 15 miles, I was able to stay with the 7:30/mi pace team. I was hoping to qualify for Boston off of this race, but given the conditions, was happy to finish in 3:38.
June - Run for the Roses 10K It was 85+ degrees out at the start. For the first couple of miles I was able to maintain a good pace (around 6:30). The temperatures eventually caught up with me and I had to slow down, but I still set a new PR.
September - Philly 1/2 Marathon - I ran this race with the hopes of setting a PR. This would give me some confidence leading up to the Marathon. This was also the 25th running of this race, so there was a great deal of publicity for it. The race organizers offered $50,000 to anyone who broke the world record, so not only was there a record turn out (around 9,000 runners), but a collection of current world record holders, former Olympians and other elite runners were on hand. But, the temperatures were really warm - so, no PR for me and no world record for anyone else.
October - Summit 5 miler -I've grown to love this race. Each year, I've done well here. This time, I finished 17th overall (out of 3-400 runners). This is the highest place I've ever finished. No age group award though (5 of the to 10 finishers were in my age group).
November - Philly Marathon - Finally qualified for Boston!!!