As I covered in previous posts, the Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon was a big disappointment. Though I was in shape to run a new PR, a critical error and a mis-measured course took that chance away from me.
This leads me to a strange spot. I had planned on this race being my last shot at a PR, but without this race even being an official 26.2 miles, it's hard to settle on this being the last marathon I train for a PR. After thinking about it and talking with Laura, I think I'm going to try for another PR race. The question is, which one?
Part of me wants to get it over with and go for a spring marathon, but the other part of me knows it's easier to train for a fall race. Training for a winter race means more time on the treadmill and more runs in the dark--two things I don't look forward to. And, if the race is hot, it puts one at a big disadvantage after training in cold or cool weather.
A fall race means a lot of training in hot weather, which is a big bonus in getting ready for a race that may be warm. Running in hot weather also means increasing blood plasma level, an advantage similar to that of training at high elevation.
Despite the disadvantages of training for a spring marathon, I'm leaning toward doing one anyway. I was already thinking of running Grandma's Marathon in June, so that may be the race where I chase a new PR. After about a month of running easy, I can start some base building and move right into another training program. Carrying my fitness from this training cycle into the next one will be at least one advantage in training for a spring marathon.
I will admit that I also looked at marathons in December, but there are two reasons I don't think that will work out. First, there's nothing close by. Second, I'm not confident in my ability to recover and come back to run another PR pace marathon.
A big thanks to all the support from my readers. Though this race was mainly a huge disappointment, I've still received a lot of encouragement and sympathy. In the great scheme of things, a disappointing race is relatively minor.
Happy Running.
Part 1
Part 2
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