Haven't even crossed the finish line in Gansett yet (only 10 days to go, though!!!!), and I'm already planning what comes next.
I think this is a good thing, though, because as weary and tired of training as I am right now, I know that it won't be long before I'm ready to dive back into it again. This time for shorter races, though!!!
For a while now, I've known that post-Gansett, I wanted to really focus on my half-marathon time. I have some decent speed and plenty of endurance, but getting faster at the marathon distance takes such a huge toll on your body - not to mention so many more hours on the road. And after doing it twice in 6 months, I'm kind of all set with that.
So the half it is - three of them, to be exact - the newly created United HealthCare Triple Crown race series. I'll not only be running all three half-marathons, but I've also been chosen to be a blog ambassador!
At least once a week, I'll blog about my training for each of the races, so that readers can follow along as I prepare for and run three 13.1-mile courses throughout this lovely state I call home. And in return, I've received complimentary entries to those races. I joked to Scott that this is the closest I'll ever come to getting sponsored - and hey, I'll take it!!!
I'm really excited about these races, and even more excited to be sharing my training along with the other Rhode Scholars who are contributing.
The first race is in Providence in May, the second is in Jamestown in July, and the final race is in Newport in October. I know the courses for the Providence and Newport races, and both are great, so I'm sure the Jamestown course (a brand-new one) will be, too.
Each race is going to be a little different for me, and my training will reflect that.
The Providence race, the first in the series, is going to be my first time ever pacing another runner. It's on May 6, which is just 3 weeks after I run Gansett, and I normally wouldn't have signed up for a half-marathon in that timeframe, but I've run this one every year since its inception, and now that I have a good streak going, I don't want to break it!
But I had no intention whatsoever of even approaching a race pace this year, knowing that a race effort that close to a full marathon would not be a wise choice.
So when I found out a friend had signed up, I volunteered to run with her. She's hoping for a PR, and the pace she's aiming for will be a great recovery pace for me, so it's a match made in heaven! And I'm really looking forward to the experience of running a race with someone, which is something I've only done one other time.
And aside from 2011, when I was 3 months postpartum and my only goal was to finish, I've never run this race at anything less than an all-out effort, so I'm going to really enjoy just running for the fun of it.
One of my motivators for signing up was to keep the streak going, but the other draw was that it's a great race. Not too big, but big enough to be exciting and festive and draw a good amount of crowd support - along with a nice course that showcases a lot of great areas of Providence.
It'll be a fun day, and once I cross that finish line, I think I'll be ready to start digging into some training plans and formulating some more definitive goals for the Jamestown and Newport races, which will hopefully include some faster times and at least one PR!
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