The Oldest Marathon, the Newest Half and the Goofy Challenge.

On Monday I posted that I do not have an official running event until April 30.  But, I forgot--I've signed up for my virtual 5k, "Jessica's Jellybean Race," which must be completed this week.  I'm hoping by Saturday my tattoo will be healed enough to be able to shimmy into my sports bra again to trot out my 3.1 miles..  (If I was a flower child, I would have burnt my bra then immediately gone to buy a new one.  This is a difficult way to live!)  I'm just realizing that I am going to probably have to do this Jellybean Race on a treadmill, since I don't have a Garmin and won't know how far I've gone if I run outside. That's a bit of a bummer.  I usually find an approximate distance on mapmyrun.com, but an exact distance is more difficult. Am I going to eventually have to purchase one of these items?  I haven't broken yet, but my resolve is weakening...maybe a thirtieth birthday present....although, I think I've already picked out too many of those. (see below.)  ;)

In other news, my tattoo is healing fine--and hopefully quickly, as I fancy myself simply chock full o' vitamins! And, despite my penchant for binge drinking and my complete sedentary lifestyle for going on four days, I actually have managed to lose a few pounds. (Hooray!)  I officially, for contest purposes lost 4lbs in the past two weeks.  But, the day before my first weigh-in, I did gorge myself on pasta. with cream sauce.  So, I have a feeling I started about 2 pounds heavier than I actually was.  (I feel like a heavyweight contestant on the Biggest Loser, who throws their weight to avoid getting kicked off the following week.)  Nevertheless, it was nice to see the lower numbers on the scale.  I can't wait to actually voluntarily burn a calorie!

Also, this week, being the third week of April and thus the week of "Patriot's Day" for my northern brethren in the Old Bay State, marks the annual running of the Boston Marathon.  Yes, the world's oldest and most famous marathon was held Monday.  It's been an annual event in Boston since 1897 and this year marked the 115th running of the race.  I did not participate, sadly, because in order to qualify, I will either need to age quite significantly, or decrease my marathon PR by over an hour.  Qualifying time is 3 hours and 35 minutes if you're under the age of 35....Yowza.  It used to be 3 hours and 40 minutes--not much better--but they just lowered it about 2 months ago.  Those Bostonians probably heard I was dreaming of running it and wanted to make it much more challenging for me. But I will not be deterred from Beantown.  Even if I have to wait until I'm 70-74 (the age bracket in which my current time would now qualify me) I'll always have the Boston pipe dream in the back of my mind.

In all seriousness, Boston is the most prolific marathon in the running community and I do hope that one day I have an opportunity to be able to run (and finish) the race.  That's one of the main reasons why I race---to improve my time--so maybe,eventually it will happen. 

The one surprising thing I did not realize about the Boston Marathon until I read it in the news yesterday, is that the net incline is actually a negative.  That is to say, if you add up all the uphill and downhill runs, runners end up going downhill more often than uphill. I was really surprised to find that out because had always heard that the Boston course was famous for its hills (although I heard Baltimore was comparable, and the hills on that course are "wicked" brutal.)  This means that, even though Boston is the oldest and one of the most famous courses, it's not a "world record qualifying course."  I believe there is another stipulation regarding Boston's point-to-point course.  The IAAF (the International Association of Athletic Federations) has determined that not running a race in a loop could give runners an unfair advantage regarding wind resistance. 

I suppose runners know this before they register for the race and are thus mentally prepared for the fact that this race is ineligible for a record.  But this year the winner, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya, beat the world record by almost a minute.  Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia set the current world record in 2008 at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:03:59. Mutai finished Monday's race in 2:03:02. (By the way, I would be ecstatic if my half marathon was 2:03:02....or 2:03:59, for that matter.)  A 57 second different is pretty significant, and apparently the Boston Athletic Association is appealing to the IAAF to allow Mutai's record to be counted. 

It will be interesting to find out their decision.  I'm not sure how I feel about this...if I were Mutai and I beat the record, I think I'd want it acknowledged by the Federation that determines the records/record holders.  But, then again, he did enter the race knowing it would not be a qualifying event.  If I were Gebrselassie, I'd still want the IFFA to keep my record--and I'd argue my course was more difficult than the Boston course--but I wouldn't want an asterisk next to my record noting that someone technically/unofficially did beat my time.  I cannot make my mind up on this conundrum...what do you think?

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Meanwhile, 24 hours after the start of the world's oldest marathon, the world's newest half marathon was announced:  The Disneyland Tinkerbell Half Marathon, held in Anaheim, CA on January 29, 2012.  Although not as historic as Boston, this race promises to have just as much fanfare.  After much ado--clues on Facebook, email blasts, etc.--the race was announced and quickly broadcast across the internet, and [I think] it was well received.  Although the race, following the model of Walt Disney World's Princess Half Marathon, is geared toward woman, and I did hear a few comments from disappointed gentlemen who felt a little slighted.  (To those gentlemen I say: Don't let the Disney marketing boss you around, you manly men! We can ALL be fairies for one day!....and, I'm sure Disney will gladly take your registration money regardless of gender.) 

I like that Disneyland is getting a second race.  I had an amazing time in L.A. and Anaheim when I went this past fall for their official half over Labor Day weekend.  I would definitely go back for this! (Maybe not in 2012 for the Inaugural race, but eventually.)  Another reason I continue to run races, aside from trying to improve my time, is to get fabulous pictures, and no race provides more photo ops than the Disney branded races.  I am a little disappointed that the timing of the race is so close to the two Floridian races. (The WDW Marathon is January 8, only 20 days before, and the Princess race is held less than a month later.)  I suppose there is only a small window between the holidays and spring-breakers, but that's a tight squeeze for a devotee, no? 

As I said, I did not sign up for the newest race in the nation.  But today, mere hours ago, I did sign up for it's older and more expensive cousin, the "Goofy Challenge."  For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it's when a runner signs up to run the Disney World Half Marathon on Saturday and the Disney World Full Marathon on Sunday....Their marketing describes it as a 39.3 mile "adventure."   Adventure is one way of putting it. 

The first time someone told me about it, I thought it sounded ridiculous.  "Why would ANYONE ever want to do that!?" I asked myself.  Quite frankly, it's triathlon-level-expensive, and I would fly all the way to Disney World, make my family or friends tag along, only to find out I can't actually move my legs or walk the whole time I'm there? No thank you!

But then....something changed....I flip-flopped.  The more I thought about it, the more I had the itch.  Also, the more I looked at various races, I realized how unique the event actually is.  To my knowledge, there is not a combination like this elsewhere. Obviously there are Ultra-Marathons and Ragnars, but this 1/2+Full combo is rare.  I kept getting more and more intrigued.  Finally, I decided I had to do it.  It's a month to the day after my thirtieth birthday.  What better way to celebrate (re: prove that I am still young, able-bodied and vigorous) than by dragging my loved ones to Florida, waking up 2 mornings in a row at 3:00 am (on vacation, on a weekend) and running two long distance races back-to-back? It certainly beats a surprise party with black balloons and a tombstone-shaped birthday cake! Anyway, for anyone interested in the Half, the Full or the CHALLENGE (as of right now I'm running alone) prices increase on April 25th.  It's sure to be interesting....