A big motivation behind registering for the Tobacco Road Marathon was to push myself to build my running fitness ahead of this October’s Beach2Battleship (B2B) Iron-Distance Triathlon. Based on my training & results, I feel like that goal is accomplished.
But the late October B2B is still 29 weeks out- or more than six months. That may sound like a lot of time to prepare, but as it turns out, my Ironman training should be ramping up now. Many training plans call for 10-15 hours of training… a week! Even though I am enjoying most aspects of my training that is still a ton of time devoted to pure exercise.
In the meantime, I am looking out for short-term opportunities to train & prepare for. One strategy would be to sign up for 5-10 shorter races throughout the spring & summer, to break up the monotony of training and have some fun. But the reality is that every race costs money- typically $50-$130, and I don’t have the budget to drop $500 on races. (The B2B registration fee alone will cost $425! Add in a few nights at a hotel, and it is easy to see how an Iron distance race is not a cheap endeavor.)
Nonetheless I hope to find a few races & challenges here and there, like the St. Francis Run for Peace 5k, and perhaps an Olympic Triathlon, to work towards in the short term. This month’s goal is free (hooray!): 30 Days of Cycling. The challenge: “Bike somewhere every day for 30 days—around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you—then share your adventures online.” So far the weather has cooperated, but by the end of the week some rain showers will test my resolve- and hopefully push my limits!
ps I registered for my second Marathon on April Fool’s Day: Rock n Roll Raleigh 2014! Just 54 weeks to train! I am familiar with some of the controversy around the race, but I am still excited to race a Raleigh marathon. (City of Oaks is only a week after B2B, so not enough time to rest.)