Picking a Goal Race

I'm trying not to freak out but yesterday my foot had decently intense pain shooting through it. Today will remain a running-free day even though I fight the urge to get out the door every hour or so. Since Sunday, I had run a total of 10.5 miles which really isn't that much but I guess it is a lot for just coming off of an injury. Hopefully these are just warning pains and there isn't anything cracking down there.

Even though I'm not running today I did finalize my entry into the Virginia Happy Trails Women's Half Marathon. It turns out John will be volunteering at one of the aid stations so it should be a fun weekend on the trails for the Shirlington Extreme Running Team. I hope he has some french fries out for me to snack on. Ever since I read this article in the New York Times I've wanted fries during a race

I also am trying to decide between which ultramarathon I want to set as my 2012 training goal. But really, training begins with the Marine Corps Marathon (which is going to take me a few weeks to link up with the required mileage) and attempting to sustain that high mileage in order to be able to complete an ultramarthon. So, here are the two leading options right now:

1. Can Lake 50 Miler - This race is in early October in western New York around one of the Finger Lakes. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had a really great time in the Finger Lakes region a few years ago with my brother, Patrick. The wineries there don't make the best wine, but they sure are pretty. They also are way more chill and less expensive than the Napa/Sonoma wineries I visited last summer.

This race seems like it has a gorgeous course and is mostly on the roads with some trails which is what I'm looking for. The downside is that it is pretty far from DC. And, even though my dad and stepmom live in New Jersey, this is still quite a drive from their house so I'm not really sure who could help me with my drop bags and other stuff I will need along the way.

2. JFK 50 Miler - This race is in mid-November in Hagerstown, MD (which is decently close to DC). This course seems to have much easier trails than the Bull Run Run course and has a decent amount of road/gravel path running. Because there will be more running on softer surfaces, it will probably be better on the legs than the Can Lake race. The only real issue with the JFK race is that it has a qualifying time. I've qualified for the "A-Standard" time twice but not within the time frame required for entry. So, we just have to hope that my MCM time this October will be fast enough to qualify. If it isn't fast enough, then I'm definitely getting slower in my old age. There better be a bloody mary in my hand well before the cut off for the A-standard time hits.

Tomorrow night I leave for Mississippi to attend a baby shower for my friend Joy and hang out with our other bff, Megan. I can't wait to see them and to see Joy's belly! Before the day of eating southern food non-stop begins, I plan on dragging Megan running with me. She hates to exercise outside but if I tell her there is a creepy dude in the hotel gym, I bet I can convince her to join me. And really, there is always a creepy dude in the hotel gym. Also, I just remembered some priceless stories of when Joy and I ran Cross-Country together that I will have to share sometime...Even though we've been friends since at least 1995, we have very few photos of the three of us together but I managed to find one of us (appropriately, at another baby shower).