A couple of weeks ago, I sat and watched everyone else with my qualifying time register for the Boston Marathon.
I didn’t and it sucked.
I had the chance to do that incredible race again. I didn’t take it.
That day was THE day the decision to do Ironman was final. Up until that day, I always had the chance to chicken out of Ironman Texas with the world’s most awesome back up plan – the Boston Marathon. Up until then, I still had a choice.
That day came and went. Ironman Texas it is.
I want to run Boston again. But now, for the first time in nearly two years, I find myself without a qualifying time. I had been tossing around the idea of running the BCS Marathon for a couple of months as a 2019 potential BQ but I hadn’t committed. Well, after Boston registration day came and went that decision became quite a bit easier.
Don’t think I’m without strategy here. I’m not making racing decisions willy-nilly because if there’s anything I can do, and do well, it’s plan.
This fall, it’s all about running and re-qualifying for Boston in 2019. If I want to do it, I need to do it now. If I wait until after Ironman it will be too hot and there won’t be any local races. It’s now or never.
From everything I’ve heard, BCS is a great race and I’m excited to give it my best. I felt like I missed a chance to really see what my body could do in Boston back in April because of the heat, hopefully with a December race I’ll have a shot at that 3:20 that I think I’ve got in me.
After BCS, it’s about another bucket list item, running an ultra.
Five years ago when I was pregnant with Alvy, we went camping in Big Bend Ranch State Park. When we were planning the trip we did all the research we could about the terrain and what to bring, as it’s a very primitive location. It was hard to find anything though, even online, as Big Bend Ranch isn’t on the beaten path and not exactly frequented. When we got home, I uploaded a video (watch it here) to YouTube of us off-roading in the truck on a short trail called Oso Loop, hoping it would help someone else who was making similar plans. About a year later, someone contacted me via YouTube in regards to planning a future foot race in the park. To which I responded, “FOOT RACE?!”
Running Big Bend 50 has been on my list since then.
Qualifying for and running Boston for the first time was my primary goal so Big Bend had to wait but now that I’ve got that taken care of it’s finally time!
Here’s the plan.
Once Big Bend is over it’s onto training for Ironman Texas. I should have the run portion pretty well covered at that point so I should only have to focus on training my body for the swim and the bike. I will continue to swim and cycle as cross training while I train for BCS so I won’t exactly be starting from scratch.
Since I’m only in it to finish, I should be in good enough shape to dive head first into Ironman training starting in mid-January. At least that’s the plan. Because plans always work out, right?