Halvsies

After a brief moment of insanity, during which I contemplated signing up for a fall marathon (after I saw that a bunch of people from the running club were doing it), I have reminded myself that I do NOT want to spend my summer going through that kind of training again.

Nor do I want to complete a marathon this fall, have a few weeks of downtime, and then almost immediately begin training again, for Boston.

I don't want to do it, and I'm not going to do it. And I'm almost certainly going to need to be reminded of that a few more times this summer. The idea sounds exciting now, but I know full well that six weeks from now, as I was staring down yet another grueling week of training, I'd be thinking about what a stupid, rotten idea it was.

I am, however, seriously considering adding one more half to my schedule. Which is only half crazy, right?  

I was very happy to find out about the United Healthcare Triple Crown, since I knew I'd be working on taking some time off my half-marathon PR once I finished Gansett, and participating in the series would add a nice twist to that endeavor.

I quickly signed up, and I am looking forward to the next race in July - speedwork is back in my vocabulary (and back on my weekly schedule), as are tempo runs, and I'm going to get back up to double-digit long runs this weekend, too.

I don't expect a PR in Jamestown, given that it's going to be July, which means heat and humidity, but I do plan to give it my all and hope to come as close to my PR as possible.

But at the same time, I'm also looking back, and looking at the bigger picture - tallying up what I've run so far, and figuring out how many more races I can fit into my schedule this year.

I ran New Bedford in March, United Healthcare in May, will run Jamestown in July, Zooma in September, and Amica in October. And I don't like odd numbers, so I think running the 2nd annual Surftown Half in September would round things out nicely.

I ran this race last year, and it was, hands-down, one of the most beautiful race courses I've ever run on. Scenic from start to finish - and mostly flat, too.

And it just had a really fun vibe to it, from the surfboard mile markers to the awesome race shirts (the only race shirt I've ever received compliments on), to the festival set up in the parking lot next to the race start.

And I'm certain the race is going to be bigger this year, but the size last year was perfect - not too big, not too small. So even though it will likely be bigger this year, I don't think it will be too big.

I'm not committing yet, but I am seriously contemplating it. I'm loving the reduced mileage and the easier training schedule, but I am eager to challenge myself and get in some good race efforts this summer and fall, and I'm realizing why so many people love the half-marathon distance so much. And there are just so many great races out there - it's hard to limit yourself!

Would I qualify as a half fanatic?  Probably not. But I'm definitely starting to see the appeal!

For more from Michelle, check out Me and the Boys, her blog.