I always wondered when should you sign up for a full marathon. I have 5Ks, 10Ks and 2 half marathons under my belt. I've ran the Freep International Half twice so doing a full I would know half of the route. They give runners 6 hours and 30 minutes to finish the race. The time limit isn't bad, I just want a change of scenery.
For about a month I was looking up different marathons and possible ideas. My biggest fear is not being able to finish in the time limit and then being discouraged to try a full again. A few people told me about the Grand Rapids Marathon and the course is flat with only a few hills. There is no time limit and they even have an early start for the velocity challenged. Once I have an idea of how long it will take me I'll know if I should do the early start or the regular one. They even offer showers at the YMCA after the race, SCORE!
If I get injured or can't do the race, I can pay $20 to defer my entry to next year. I will have to get a hotel for a night or two, but I don't mind. I want to visit the Founders Brewery after the race. The Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team plays at Van Andel so I have a couple ideas to make the weekend enjoyable. I am planning my race schedule around my full marathon.
I have signed up for 4 races so far:
February 6th: Paczki run 5K
March 6th: Kona Shamrock Run 5K
March 13th: Cork Town Race 5K (Maybe I can get Pasha a green tutu for St. Patty's day)
October 23rd: Grand Rapids Marathon
Around the end of June will be my cutoff for races so I can focus on my training. Last year when I trained for my second half, I didn't sign up for races during my training either, it helped from being distracted and throwing off my training schedule. I'm going to be following the Hanson's beginner training plan. I still have a few months to tune up before training.
The list below are possible races, its only a rough draft and I'm sure I'll find more I'll want to do or attempt them next year.
*April 9th: Meteor 10K
*April 24th: Glass City 5K
*May 6th: Hightail to Ale 5K (I might volunteer, haven't done that before)
*May 7: Super Run 5K (It depends when my work in-service is)
*May 21st: Komen Race for the Cure
*November: Turkey Trot 10K
*December 11th: Jingle Bell 5K
I left links for the races and training plan if anyone is interested. I hope to have a medal to show off in October. I'm nervous about the full and really excited at the same time!
