Run Luau Run

I always tell people that if you want incentive for going to the gym/exercising/eating right, sign up for something.

Anything – a 5K, a 10K, even a Half-Marathon.

Get something on the calendar; something that is not so far away that it joins the rest of the “some day”s in your bucket of  “I’ll get to that tomorrow”, but no so close that you are unable to train properly for it.  More importantly, tell people about it.  Let them know what you are doing so that they will hold you accountable.

After watching my various social media feeds during the Boston Marathon, I did just that.  I signed up for the Bay State Marathon which takes place on October 19th.  Although it is not until Fall, it gives me enough time to get my running legs back before I kick into Marathon Training Mode.  My goal is to go sub-3:25 (my new BQ-time as I move up in age group) with an eye on sub-3:20 to give me a cushion.

My plan is to spend the next month getting my legs back before beginning training in earnest near the end of June/early July.  I’ll even have a tune-up race in September that I will write about soon as a separate post.  I’m still trying to decide on a training plan so if some of you more experienced runners have suggestions, I am always open to them.

I’ve got something on the calendar and I’m announcing to the world so I am held accountable and incentivized to get out there and run.

***

Oh.

There’s one more thing.

I’m not exactly sure how, but it appears that I am signing up for the Ghost Train Rail Trail Ultra…which takes place 6 days after Bay State.  My friends Jeremy and Josh somehow convinced me (I’m positive one of them must be a Jedi and did the ole Jedi Mind Trick on me).  Runners can choose to run 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 or 100 miles (I think there’s actually a 115 mile option for overachievers, but that’s just friggin’ ridiculous!).  I’m sure you can guess which distance we will be shooting for.  After completing the TARC 100 last June in just under 28 hours, my only regret was that I was not able to do it in under 24.  That will be the goal on October 25th/26th.  It just better not rain that week.

So there you have it.  Pushing the limits of what I am physically capable of will be the theme of the week from October 19th – 26th.

What the heck am I thinking?