Race Decision = Made!

For the last 6+ months, I have been hemming and hawing over what marathon to do this fall.  I know what some of you are thinking - "is this a decision that needed to be made at this moment?"  No, it didn't.  But I am a planner.  It's in my nature.  I already know I am running the Chicago Marathon in 2013, so it felt weird to not be able to make a decision about a marathon for this fall!

My initial thoughts were that I'd either run the NYC marathon (which requires a lottery entry), Marine Corp Marathon in DC, or City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh.  

Then the bills for my sinus surgery started to roll in... which required me to meet my out-of-pocket maximum.  Within the first 6 weeks of the year.  Ouch.  

So I had to go back to the drawing board. Yes, I could have tapped into savings and done one of those destination races, but it would have felt irresponsible.  So I started to look around for other races that are a driveable distance away.  After doing some research, weighing my options, and sending multiple 'what should I do' emails to Amber, I made my decision.

I'll be running the IMT Des Moines Marathon on October 21st, 2012!

I chose this course because:

• The course is mostly flat - there are some 'hills' in miles 1-5, but they sound pretty benign
• It's a short, easy drive from Minneapolis (3.5 hours)
• The race registration fee was cheap compared to other marathons (bargain price of $68, some are over $100 so that's a deal) and hotel options are reasonable as well.
• Bart Yasso is going to be there.  I have done a lot of Yasso 800's - I can't wait to hear this guy speak at the expo!
• It's 2 weeks after Nora's wedding, which means I'll be in taper mode at that point and won't have to try to fit in a 20 mile run the weekend of her wedding!

It feels really good to have my decision made!  My training won't 'officially' start until June, but in the mean time, I'll be building up my endurance and doing the same workouts as those in my group who are training for spring marathons (except my long runs are way shorter - max of 8 mi lately).  I'm really excited to see how I do at this marathon - my run club has made me such a stronger runner, I feel like a PR is within my reach.  But most of all, I'm really excited to get back on a marathon training plan, especially now that I have the support and camaraderie of my fellow run club friends (and virtual running buddies afar, of course)!