Marathon #6 on the Horizon

I had been counting down to Marathon Monday for months.  After starting my new job in January, I was super jazzed to realize that I have Monday mornings off so I could watch the coverage of the elite runner finishes in their entirety.  I shed tears over Kara's interview aired pre-race, I shed tears at the finish when Kara asked with her first breath "How'd Shalane do??"  And I ended the day in tears of shock and horror at what had happened at the finish line.

The running community is one of the most supportive and genuine groups that I am a member of.  While my running has taken a back seat over the last year + due to school commitments, I still consider myself a runner (albeit a much slower one).  Some of my best memories are race weekends with running besties, some of my closest relationships were founded because of running, and I am at my happiest when I'm devoting my time to the sport.

When Krista posted that she had signed up for the Madison Marathon, my interest was piqued.  I had been toying with signing up for TCM and then talking myself out of it EVERY time, because July will be a crazy month for school, and I am not in good enough running shape to pull the ol' 6 week marathon training cycle like Jenn, Megan, and I did for the Philly Marathon.  I had previously heard rumblings about the Madison race being moved to the fall, but had failed to see the official announcement.

I called Kyle to ask his thoughts:  YES!  You're so much happier when you're running all the time.  I think it's a great idea.  Do it!  And I fbooked Krista to be sure that I could snag a spot on her couch with kittehs for the weekend.  And boom.









I've been pouring through Chi Marathon and implementing its techniques.  The book recommends only running as far as you can while maintaining the proper form, so it is currently very slow going.  But I'm excited to be getting some miles in again.  And I'm excited for my grad program to be winding down.  And I'm excited to be pounding the pavement in Madison in November with all the Boston area runners, spectators, families, law enforcement, first responders, etc. etc. etc. heavily on my mind and in my heart.