Marine Corps Marathon...AND BEYOND!

So Sunday brings us the Marine Corps Marathon.  My last big race of the year (I'm sure I'll some sort of Thanksgiving and/or Christmas themed race - maybe even Rehoboth Half Marathon, but currently I'm only signed up for MCM).  I've taken my recovery very seriously since Wineglass so I should be ready to go (ok, I've barely done anything...but I should at least be well rested!).  We'll see how the first half goes and adjust from there.  I'll either try to pick it up, or ratchet it back and enjoy some beverages along the back half with all the fans.  Hopefully I'll feel good and I can drop a bit from Wineglass, but that may be a bit too optimistic.

Once MCM is in the books, it looks like I've got to turn right around and begin 70.3 prep.  I'm tentatively scheduled to race Florida 70.3 in April.  Logistically it could be a good race to do since it's only about an hour from my dad's house.  I'd love to bring the family down and make it a nice long weekend (also happens to be on Spring Break), but with Boston the following week, I'm not sure my wife is crazy about the idea.  Maybe I'll just bring the kiddos...

I have some lofty goals for the race.  The first being to finally break the 5 hour mark.  I know I can do it.  I came close at Eagleman in 2012, but not so close at Raleigh this year.  A flat tire and hills just beat me up and I didn't get there.  If I put in the training, I know I can do this.  What's always been my problem though is I find excuses to NOT train.  The bottom line is I've been lazy.  Who knows what I could do if I fully committed myself and stopped slacking and got my workouts in.  It all comes to what I am willing to do.  I always say I'm going to do this or that, but the bottom line is, I NEVER come close to what I "plan" on doing (training wise).  Come race day, I race hard and get the most out of my conditioning and ability.  I definitely end up surprising people, but I usually end up wondering "what if."

Will 2014 be different?  Only time will tell.  I'll take a couple days off post MCM and then time to hit the trainer.

I'm also really hoping to be picked up by the Wattie Ink Elite Team.  I'm ready to Rock the W!  Following that crew of awesome athletes always gets me going.  If I'm able to get on the team, I really think they could have a huge impact on my success.

Here's to a good final couple months of 2013 and to Rocking the W in 2014!