Joshua Chamberlain 1/2 Mar in early March

Local 5k (first of the season around here) in late March

Boston Mid April

Sugarloaf Mid May

After taking 2/3rds of 2012 off, it feels good to be back at it.

What 50?

Mt Si

(OK, it's really too flat to be a "real" 50.)

ETA: unlike Dizzy which repeatedly ascends the Seattle Alps. 

March means spring has arrived!

3/9 - 100% Irish for a day 10 Miler.  Nothing like starting at a 5K and moving up to 10 Miles in less than a month.

3/24 - St Patrick's Human 8k that is the first race for USATF MN road racing circuit.

better get my shoes and run...can't get in shape sitting my arse waiting for it to warm up above 5 degrees.

 

Nice, Cory (and look who's been racking up 80-mile weeks!).  In terms of something like a marathon, I am hoping to work out all the details vis-a-vis family stuff.

My options are a bit circumscribed.

My only window for a big race this year is between 5/16 and the end of August. That means I've only got one shot  to BQ for 2014.

I would appreciate your thoughts on these or other options:

1. Three Days at the Fair (Marathon option).  

Pros: 

Spend time with the Hasher Ricks

Flat and Fast

Certified course for BQ

Sleep in my own bed

Cons:

1 mile loop x 26.2 (This could be a plus if I get the right mindset).

It is mainly an ultra, not a marathon (as you can see from the website). This means that I could be the only one running the marathon and even more likely the only one going for 3:10.

May 16 could be a hot one. 

2. Buffalo Marathon 

Pros:

Reasonable course

3:10 pacer

Better chance for ideal weather

Day before Memorial Day (extra day to recover before going back to work)

Cons:

~6 hour's drive

  

1. Three Days at the Fair (Marathon option).  

Pros: 

Spend time with the Hasher Ricks

Flat and Fast

Certified course for BQ

Sleep in my own bed

 

Cons:

1 mile loop x 26.2 (This could be a plus if I get the right mindset).

It is mainly an ultra, not a marathon (as you can see from the website). This means that I could be the only one running the marathon and even more likely the only one going for 3:10.

May 16 could be a hot one. 

Nader, If Boston goes badly again (weather or a blow up) I'm thinking this or Sugarloaf as a backup to fetch another BQ, redemption, or whatever.

Pros for Three Days are flat, certified, and 45 minute drive from my in-laws. This one makes the most logistical sense. Nobody will care/notice if I run another marathon and it would be like sleeping in my own bed. I'd be happy to pace for 3:10 at that point too.

There is one more pro about Three Days that you missed. You can start with any race so it's possible to game the weather a bit.

Spring races for me... there's that big race in Boston but I've made no concrete plans beyond. I'll probably just race whatever looks fun and fits my mood.

MTA: I forgot about Maine Coast. That might require a quick turn around though. I thought the time between Boston and Sugarloaf last spring was perfect.

Maine Coast is on Mother's day

MTA: Who puts a damn marathon on Mother's day? Ain't gonna happen. I don't care to sleep no the couch for the rest of the year.

Nads, did you look at Vermont City?

 

There is also Sugarloaf, though that's an even longer drive than Buffalo, and Maine Coast, but that's the weekend before your marathon window opens.

Thanks, Mikey.

Vermont City looks good. Will want to incorporate some hills into my training, from now.

But maybe Sugarloaf will feature an encore appearance by EGH3...

Maine Coast looks good, but gonna need to see if I can make the date work.

 

That would be awesome. When might you know for sure?

Probably the afternoon of April 15th.

If I get my Boston goal I'm probably not going to run another for months. I've already spoken to the family about Three Days and I don't think it's an issue at all. It's logistically the easiest which gives it an edge over the others. Sugarloaf is a great race though. The Maine Coast Marathon is run through a very nice part of Maine and is also somewhat easy logistically.

Despite all that part of me has been thinking about running a second for fun and saving the fall for shorter races like I did last year.

MTA: FYI -  http://www.rhoderaces.com is the same weekend as the Maine Coast Marathon but much closer to you.

 

Thanks, Mikey.

 

Vermont City looks good. Will want to incorporate some hills into my training, from now.

 

But maybe Sugarloaf will feature an encore appearance by EGH3...

 

Maine Coast looks good, but gonna need to see if I can make the date work.

I believe Nemo will be at the Loaf, as will some GLRR folk. Maine Coast would have the advantage of a beautiful course, with the cold, cold Atlantic ocean alongside just in case there's some unseasonably warm weather that day. A feature of Vermont City is that Burlington has the highest concentration of micro-breweries per capita in, like, the whole world. If I were contemplating un-retiring from marathons this spring, those are some of the factors that would come into play.