Decisions, Decisions!

I have been really working on my race schedule for 2010 and attempting to nail down the ones I MUST run verses the ones that I would LIKE to run.  The list is long on both sides.  As I think I mentioned before, my excel spread sheet with my race calendar has a total column for all the races fees.  If I were to do all of them, we are looking at $1,600 bucks!  Granted that is 22 races and I know this girl isn't ready for that kind of schedule!  But the thought of spending all that money makes me feel guilty especially when I also like to feed my addiction for new running shoes quite a few times during the year :)  Just the other day my husband was joking with a friend of ours that he thought that running was going to be a "cheap" sport when I started.  Little did he know!

Right now my biggest dilemma is weather or not I am going to really attempt to go for Maniac status.  I am a peace with the fact that I made a smart decision not to run CIM but I am still a bit bummed when I think about how close I was to my Maniac yellow jersey.  One of my main goals for 2010 is to grab it, and trying to figure out a race schedule that fits is getting me all flustered!  Running three marathons within 90 days is a big challenge but it is something that I REALLY want to attempt.

So, without further adu, this is the race that I am now contemplating on running - The Big Sur International Marathon.  It is a crazy race to attempt to tackle just 6 days after Boston, but it has some really awesome amenities for the runners to do attempt it and are successful in finishing both!  Plus, it is right in the time frame for the Maniac status.  The course is called challenging for one, with many large hills that not only go up quite steep but come down just as steep.  It is set on one of the most beautiful courses in the world and has you running down the historic Highway 1 between Monterey and Carmel California. 

The challenging course is not necessarily keeping me from hitting "register" right this second, although it is a deciding factor.  But what is really killing me is the $175 race fee for the people like me who race Boston and then Big Sur!  Insane!  Granted, I do get a special bib, an Asics jacket, Asics tech shirt, special finishers medallion, and a finishers booth just for the 400 people that are signed up for this insane challenge.  But, it is still $175 dollars!  I thought Boston was expensive at $130! 

Big Sur/Monterey is only about an hour away for me.  Not really too bad of a drive.  But the race does start at 6:45 am and the busses that take you to the start begin to leave from 3:45 am to 4:45 am!  Wowza!  We will have just gotten back from Boston that Wednesday and I am not too keen on spending more money on yet another hotel room just 4 days after Boston.  So, if I am going to do this it means I will stay home, and probably leave my house around 3 am to be at the buses that early!  And we all know that means a 1:30 or 2:00 am wake up call!  Crazy!!! 

I really, really want to run this race.  It is a once in a lifetime experience almost,  to be able to run Boston and then Big Sur.  I am sure that I would have an opportunity to do this at one point or another sometime down the line, but right now I am not really held down by the usual restraints that keep people from attempting this challenge (like babies and kiddos).  What is really killing me though is the $175 race fee, the un-gawdly hour of the start and busses and yes, I will admit, the crazy, challenging course.  I know that if I run it I will finish.  I tackled Lake Tahoe this year and that is also an extremely challenging course (and I was injured, too!).  Tahoe is ran in the Sierras and at an elevation of around 6,000 - 7,500 feet!  Rolling hills at sea level should be easy, right?  LOL!

Right now I need to just sit with this for a day or two and really let it marinade in me that this is what I REALLY want to do.  If I pay the $175 bucks then damn it I am going to run it!  But the race is already at 71% and it is filling fast - last week it was only at 62%.  Decisions, decisions.

In non-running news I had a pretty un-eventful weekend.  I did have my office Christmas party but that was boring beyond belief.  What do you get when you put a couple of accountants with their significant others and support staff in a French restaurant?  Complete boredom and uncomfortable silence. :)  My hubbs and I managed to not stay too long then went out for drinks and desert together - we we're all dressed up, couldn't let it go to waste!

My mom insisted on getting a picture of us when we dropped Lilly off that night!  It brought back memories of H.S. prom! :)

On the running front I got in 6.5 miles on the dreadmill at the gym Friday night and an awesome, wet and rainy 10 miler on Sunday.  I don't mind the rain too much, but the wind is what always gets me!

6.5 miles 46:31  7:09/mi pace  - side note: my parish priest was on the treadmill next to me.  Yes, we often end up there together, thankfully he has known me since I was a little red head.  But he hasn't been able to run in a while and a few years ago when I first started running next to him I was so amazed he could run at 7.5 on the treadmill!  Now, I am running at 8 mph (7:03 pace) and just had to show him up.  Yes, I am even competitive with my family priest :)

10 miles  1:16:14  7:37/mi pace - nice and wet and windy - really lit a fire under my little red butt!

I am so excited Christmas is next week!  So excited to head off to Tahoe to celebrate, not so excited to spend the weekend with my MIL.  That is for another post.  I am off to work on my goal list for 2010 since it is wicked SLOW here at the office!
Happy Running peeps!