Every day brings new choices, & today I chose my fall marathon!

I love having a marathon on the horizon, and I didn't realize quite how much I thrive on it until after BMO Mesa-Phoenix!  During my past three marathon recovery phases, I've had subsequent marathons planned that I shifted my focus to --- basically thinking about recovering to then begin another marathon training block.  I didn't want to plan my next move marathon-wise until after Phoenix, since my performance at Phoenix was going to heavily influence the decision, and I found myself almost panicking about not knowing what I was recovering to work towards, even though I had several shorter spring races planned.  What can I say, marathoning is addicting, and meeting goals begets setting bigger ones.

On a high from my Phoenix PR, I started passionately researching marathons – knowing that the soonest I would run one would be in October, due to the Trials qualifying window not opening until then, due to fall being more conducive to marathoning than summer, and due to Phoenix being my third marathon within 20 weeks (i.e., attempting to be intelligent about not doing another too soon).  Although I was in a hurry to pick a race to work towards, I also wanted to pick the "right" one to give myself the best chance in going for a 260 second PR.  So I looked, a lot and analyzed a lot!

Just like I couldn’t quite get 2:49 out of my head prior to Phoenix, there was one marathon I kept coming back to:  the California International Marathon.  The more I looked at other races, the more everything confirmed that CIM was the one I should target.  The race produces the most OTQs out of any marathon in the U.S., and organizers cater to that by providing a 2:45:00 pacer and performance bonuses to any athletes netting the A and B standards, regardless of place.  The course is point-to-point with a net downhill and minimal turns, at sea level, and purported to be as fast as Phoenix.  Historically, the weather has usually been near perfect.  The race boasts a very competitive field, and add to that, in 2017 it is the site of the USATF Marathon Championships, meaning that as a sub-elite I would get to line up just behind many of the fastest marathoners in the country!

There were only two reasons not to run CIM.  The first is the logistics of the trip; it’s across the country and occurs during the school year.  I considered Chicago because it would be an easier trip and they have an awesome-sounding American elite development program, but I decided it’s worth a costlier trip to give myself a better chance, plus the weather seems to be more of a gamble at Chicago.  The other con is the race date, as December 3 seems so much farther away than October, and I will also not be able to race the White River half like I wanted on November 18, since two weeks before CIM would be too close for an all-out half effort.  I’ve reconciled the former with knowing I will have more time to train between now and then, and I also know that better weather is worth the wait (every runner knows that bad weather can break any PR attempt!).  I’ve reconciled the latter with knowing I could run White River at marathon goal pace as (hopefully) a nice final confidence-boosting workout, which would be 6 seconds faster than the finishing time I ran there in 2016 anyhow (White River 2016 is also when my whole OTQ obsession began, so this seems fitting)!

I’m really excited about this solid plan, and salivating for workouts and mileage!  I’m trying to focus on patience as well, which is impossible a little harder.  I’m also vacillating between gunning for a 2:44:59 and wondering if I'll ever be able to run what I did in Phoenix again!  I told my coach that I want everything I do to be focused on building for a 2:45 and that everything else is secondary…although I sure hope I can net a 1:19 half in the process – to break that barrier, and because one really shouldn’t try for a 2:45 full without running a sub-1:20 half!

I feel confident that I’ve made the best decision, so I’m not questioning it.  The question is, however, how am I going to wait over 8 months??!

Clarification:  the OTQ standards have not been officially announced or posted for 2020, but the women's B standard is rumored to be 2:45:00 based on IAAF standards/the debacle with relaxing the standard at the last minute before the 2016 trials.  Currently, CIM has the 2:45:00 pace group planned to line up with this.  I am certainly hoping the standard is not any faster...if it is, stay tuned for an addendum post with a title like, "Why I'm giving up..." (insert grimacing emoticon here).