Letting the Cat Out

I have some unfinished business.  Business that I need to take care of, sooner rather than later.  See, I had big hopes for myself this year.  I had goals and times that I wanted to meet and worked hard for months on end.  When Long Beach came, I knew it wasn't my time to shine.  I knew it wasn't my day.  And being the smart runner that I am, I set my sights on something new.  Maybe I had this in the back of my mind the whole time - maybe not.  Maybe I set myself up to fail before I even gave myself a chance.  Who knows?  What I did realize though, is that I still want to achieve my goal of hitting a low 3:30 in the marathon before the year is up.

The night before Long Beach, when I decided not to run the full, I had made up my mind.  I formed my plan and took the steps to put it into action.  I couldn't wait to finish that race, drive home and hit register on something new.  I knew all along which race was calling my name.  I haven't talked about it here yet because I was still forming my own thoughts and ideas of how this next race will play out.  I don't want any added pressure put on myself and with that I have spent the last couple of weeks working on my head.  See, I know I built it up way too far in advance for myself (I just don't do well with LONG training plans).  I talked the talk, but when it came down to it, I couldn't walk the walk because I scared myself shitless.  This time, I wanted to be sure, I wanted it to be the right decision, and I'm finally excited to see what I have in me.

So, when I got home from Long Beach, and had a nice long chat with the hubbs, I decided to register for C.I.M. - the California International Marathon on December 5th.  Yes, that is the race where I chickened out at the start last year because it was so dang cold!  But not only was it frigid out, I was also burnt out.  I had just raced 3 marathons and a couple of halves in the mater of just 8 weeks before that.  I was done racing.  This year though, come frigid temps or pounding rain...I will be at that start line to take home my own marathon victory.

I thought about not sharing this on here.  I thought about posting about it maybe the Friday before?  But that is not me, that is not what my blog is about.  Honesty is the best policy, and I know you are all super supportive.  I've re-worked a training plan for the next 6 weeks and am doing some tweaking in my diet and my cross training.  I want to give myself everything I have before I toe the line so that there will be no excuses.  Also, the hubbs will be at the finish line; above all, no matter what happens that day, that is most important to me.

I also want to announce...I didn't even attempt to register for Boston on October 18th.  Nope, didn't eve open the BAA website.  I had also made that decision that weekend.  It was hard not to, and for a bit I was sad.  But when it closed the very same day, I knew I had made the right decision for me.  I will be sad I won't get to meet many of you come April, but I have other plans to work on next year.  Bigger things that I want to do.  Boston is awesome, I will get my redemption race in 2012.  I do plan on running NY marathon if I get in (any help on this is greatly appreciated!), or maybe even possibly going the charity route to ensure I get in.  That will be my big destination race next year - and I'm excited!

So, I've spilled the beans, let the cat out of the bag, told you all where I'm at and where I'm going.  Phew, I feel better!  My head finally feels like it is screwed on tight and I can put one foot in front of the other as I count down the days until December 5th!  Thanks again for all your support! 

Have a great Tuesday!
Happy Running peeps!