New year goal?
By Jennifer
I use a question mark in the title because I have a love-hate relationship with new year goals. On the one, ambitious hand, goals are good! And the new year is such a squeaky-clean fresh start that it’s nearly impossible (for me, at least) not to be romanced by the clean slate a new year brings? (It’s why I always buy a new wall calendar and new day planner. Every year. Without fail.) On the other, more realistic hand, I usually throw out the unused day planner mid-November. Well, there goes $50. Ambition meet the total absence of follow through.
So, when I say I have a goal for 2010, I know that my track record isn’t being kind to me here. I know I have to put my money where my ass is and ACCOMPLISH this goal, no matter what, or the Universe and day planner companies everywhere are going to make a running joke out of me.
I want to run a half-marathon. I know! That’s…well…lofty for someone who isn’t exactly known for her kick-ass goal-accomplishing. But, still, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. My dad was a race director my entire childhood, and I’ve always wanted to do this myself.
Where I’m struggling isn’t even with the training or the shoes (got those!) or the music (got that!) or even the motivation to turn How I Met Your Mother off and get out the door. What I’m struggling with is WHERE TO RUN THIS RACE. AND WHAT RACE TO RUN.
I’d honestly prefer NOT to run this race in my area (Dallas/Fort Worth) because 1) the weather and scenery here straight-up blow. If I’m going to do this, I want to do it somewhere I’ll enjoy being and 2) I want to reward myself with a couple extra days out of town on the tail-end of the race.
Runners, is this silly? Planning a run out of town? Where I won’t have any experience with the terrain? The conditions? The course? Is this not just silly but, uh, stupid, too?
What’s more, where on earth is there a one-stop place for nationwide race information? I’d love to aim for fall, somewhere not-too-cold, not-too-hot. But…I’m just at a loss.
I’d really love to pay for this race now because nothing motivates me (not my weight, not my too-small clothes) like money. If I’ve paid for something, I’m far more likely to get my money’s worth.
I could use all the advice here that you have. Tips, websites, resources, etc.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
As someone training to run her first half in New Orleans—a place I’ve never visited, much less ran in— I wholeheartedly support this idea. Here’s a helpful website: http://www.halfmarathons.net/usa_half_marathons.html
November 19th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Seeing as how I’m always trying to entice people to my beautiful state (that generally gets run over by the media), may I suggest the Kiawah Island half in December? It’s all flat!
http://www.kiawahresort.com/recreation/marathon/
November 19th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
It’s not silly at all! I’d check marathonguide.com – most of the races there will have a half along with the full. The bigger races should have registration open for next year already, but you might have to wait on some of the smaller ones.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I second both the halfmarathons.net site and the marathonguide.com site — they are pretty much the best source for what races are being run around the country (and internationally)! Most of these sites will also have reviews of races so you can see if it’s flat, hilly, humid, etc. in order to figure out what would be a good fit for you.
Not crazy at all to want to run somewhere else. I ran my first half marathon out in Southern California, but I live in upstate New York. I had family connections out there, but still — it let me run early in the year and not in the snow. There are some really beautiful half marathons in the Northeast during the fall — wonderful colors and some of them are run in State Parks.
Good luck — it’s a great goal and once you run one you become addicted quickly. The running community is such a supportive one!
November 19th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I think traveling for a race is both fun and motivating. In fact, even though I’ve run 2 marathons and about 10 half marathons, I’ve only done one of those races in Dallas, where I live and train (AS YOU KNOW).
I think Dallas has a great running culture, and it’s convenient to train here year-round, but it’s pretty boring to do all of your races here, and you’re right, the terrain SUCKS.
My favorite half-marathons were Nashville (BEAUTIFUL and a fun city), or, if you want to stay close (and flat), Austin.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
I’ve heard of a Disney full/half that always sounded fun!
November 20th, 2009 at 5:48 am
Good luck! Can’t wait to hear about your training.
November 20th, 2009 at 6:03 am
I think it’s a great idea. I have no help but I support you! And if you happen to want to travel to the great state of NJ (Bwah!) I’ll cheer you on!
November 20th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Hi Jennifer,
Congrats and good luck on your goal! I’m the publisher of the website HalfMarathons.Net, and happened to come across your site today and thought I might be able to help.
Before picking a race, I’d ask a few things — what time of year do you want to run (depending on the location, the springtime can still be quite cold and/or rainy in plenty of places) and are you looking for something pretty challenging, or a faster & flatter course?
You may already know this, but one of the biggest half marathons of them all, the New York City Half Marathon, is moving up from the summer to the spring, to be run on March 21, 2010. That’s a race that would certainly be one of those you’d remember forever, and may inspire you to keep running halfs.
There’s literally hundreds and hundreds of them around the country — feel free to give me a shout if I can help you decide in any way at all.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:22 am
I know exactly how you feel about running in the DFW area. They don’t call it Plano because its so hilly. If you don’t want to venture cross-country, you should look into a half in Austin. The town is kickass, there are actual hills and scenery, and you wouldn’t be terribly far away. I ran in Austin through four years of college and it is a GREAT running town. Just a suggestion!
November 20th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I moved to the DC area this summer, and I’m not sure we could’ve had a nicer fall. Gorgeous colors, lovely weather, not-too-hot/not-too-cold STILL and it’s almost December.
With that in mind, I pulled up halfmarathons.net (from the first comment here) and found this lovely little race:
http://tinyurl.com/NFChallenge
Looks like registration will open just after the start of the new year; it is run in September; it is in a truly lovely area; and it looks like one hell of a race.
Plus, there is a TON of stuff to do here for an extra couple of days.
Yes, I’m a bit biased, but…actually, I kind of want to do this race! It looks awesome, and I’ve only ever done one snail-paced 5K!
November 20th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Portland has a marathon/half the first weekend in October and I’ve read that the course is flat. I seem to recall you loving Portland so there’s an option.
Good luck with your goal. I did two halfs this year (mostly walking) but I really would like to RUN the whole thing. So that’s my goal I guess.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:36 am
I commented on your other blog, however, when I saw the comment about the Disney half/full, I decided I’d throw an offer out there. If you want to run it, and don’t want to run it all alone, I’d love to run it with you. I’m with Kate, and would like to run an entire half, not run/walk, but eh, we’ll see. First goal, do. Second goal, do well. So keep Orlando, Florida on your list. Maybe I’ll see you there
November 20th, 2009 at 10:25 am
oooh, this is a great idea! And I hate DFW, so I’m totally with you on this.
My first half marathon was Gasparilla, in Florida. I live in DC. I stayed with my friend Jess, who I had previously never metMET but I had “met” on the training website BeginnerTriathlete.com, and we had been commenting back and forth on each other training logs. There was thread in a training forum dedicated to the race, and the night before the group of us – who again, had never met – met up for dinner. I went from running a race by myself in a town I’d never been to to running a race with 13 other people. It was crazy but also awesome. From then on almost all of my travel budget was dedicated to traveling somewhere cool… to do a race. It’s a great idea, a great way to get motivated, and a great way to make friends.
I’d check out BeginnerTriathlete, as well as the halfmarathon website listed above… look for races in places you want to go, have friends, or just sound cool — it’s a great excuse to both travel and train!!
November 20th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Go for it! I used to dream of running a marathon…but my knees won’t allow it
November 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Ooh – I have to second Kiawah Island – beautiful beaches and definitely flat, also Charleston, SC is a really neat place to visit. coolrunning.com is a great website for race listings/results, tips on running, training plans, pace calculators etc. Give yourself at least 4 months to train and plan on running a 5K and a 10K before the half – it is a distance that sounds not so bad but actually takes a good bit of base-mileage to run without injury. Good luck!
November 20th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I hope you’re not the kind of person who shuts down in the face of too many choices, because I kind of feel like you just asked commenters to help you throw obstacles in your own path.
Just get out there and run.
December 14th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Ha. I always pick runs based on places I want to visit and am trying to tell myself I’m allowed to plan a trip with friends that does NOT revolve around running – so I understand. It’s so fun to get away! I would NEVER run a long race local… I just feel like half the fun is the travel.
That said I will run the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler one year in DC (my home for 18 years) because I would LOVE to run amongst the nation’s capital and all those cool sites/monuments.
I’ve run 9 1/2′s and 1 full marathon which encompass 6 different races, 5 of which were in the rock n roll series.
I have my favorites and I have my not favorites. Really think about what is important to you.
I’d suggest choosing a large event for your first race. Having all those people around will really help fight the bordom.
I ran Disney and thought it sucked (comparitively). Most of the running was through the parking lots and roads between parks. Which meant there weren’t a lot of fans/crowds. Yes the little bit of time we were in the parks was fun, and running through the castle was fun. It was definitely a well run/organized race. Also FL in Jan is still HOT. The hummidity was just gross. I was drenched in the first mile.
The Rock N Roll races are great because they have bands and cheerleaders every mile. You can’t get too bored.
My two favorite Rock N Rolls are Nashville and Arizona (They’ve added a TON in the couple years I’ve been in ‘retirement’). Nashville is just AWESOME. The crowds are awesome – it feels like a community event even though it’s a huge city. Plus celebrating in Nashville that night is SO FUN. I will say it is a bit hilly – but nothing too steep – I consider them rolling hills – and I prefer this to a flat course.
I only ran Arizona once and it was pretty flat which I usually don’t enjoy – but I just remember loving that race.
I would not recommend VA Beach RnR. It’s flat, the race course always seems so crowded, weather is so umpredictable Labor Day weekend in VA (it has been HOT some years), plus I think the course is just boring. Again personal opinion. I have friends that run it every year.
There are so many great races across the country but I’d suggest looking at the RnR series: runrocknroll.competitor.com/tour-dates/1
You could also check with your local team in training (or similar organization) to see what events they have coming up in the next year. It would be fun to train and travel with a group.
And my fav beginner plan: http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm
December 14th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Not sure where you are in the DFW area, but I’m in Arlington (talk about suck), but we do have RIVER LEGACY. Have you had the opportunity to run out there? I love it. It’s paved 7 miles from start to finish, all along the Trinity River, with lots of side trails if that’s your sort of thing.
Also, there is this great book, 60 Hikes in 60 Miles, that details a bunch of great trails for hiking and running in the DFW area — my husband has found several he loves to run, particularly Samsom Park in River Oaks.
Good luck with your training! I’m also training for a half marathon, with a tentative goal being the Rock N Roll one in Dallas in March.