50 States Update - Mercedes Benz Marathon

10% Complete! Marathon number 5 is in the books and once again I set a new PR. Birmingham was the first double loop course so I got to see the "finer" parts of town twice. My only comment about the town is to say that I am glad to live in Columbus. Regarding the race I believe that it was my most complete one yet. I set out with a goal of 8 minute miles and finished about as close to that as possible. It was difficult considering they didn't provide pacers for any times under 4 hours and you constantly were running with relay and half marathoners who obviously were at a faster pace than you. It is very hard to constantly try to keep yourself slow in the first half especially when nearly everyone around you is faster. Though it paid off as I was able to finish strong and looking at my results I passed more a lot more people in the final 6 miles than at any part in the race. I also was able to recover quickly after the race and was able to enjoy the post race activities for once.

Also I took 3rd in my age group and since I didn't stick around for the awards I contacted the race director to see if I can get my award mailed to me. Hopefully that will be no problem.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2009. I have Knoxville coming up in a little over a month and Alaska in June. Those are the only 2 scheduled officially but I have the rest of my calender pretty much nailed down however there are a few factors that will influence what I will be able to accomplish. I have added a new category on my racing map called "Tentative". These are races that I have done everything besides actually registering. Here's a look at these dates and what must occur for me to get in on those races:

Green Bay
This one is in May and odds are about 75% that I'll do this one. I'm just trying to lock down travel arrangements and hotel stay to limit my expenses. Birmingham has taught me that not every town is a great place to hang out for the weekend and as much as I love the Green Bay Packers I hesitate to spend anymore extra time there in the event that it sucks.

Chicago
I am about 50% here. The reasons to run it is simple, it's famous and big. However at 125 bucks a head it's expensive. Plus with Gayle thinking about Law school at the moment she may be too busy to come with and one thing I learned so far is that the support you get before, during and after the marathon is priceless. Though with registration filling up fast this one I'll probably have to decide on very soon.

New York
This one is a crap shoot. It's a lottery meaning when you sign up you are not guaranteed to run. So if you don't get picked you have to wait until next year. I am definitely putting my name in as there is a condition if you don't get picked in so many consecutive years (I think 3) you automatically are entered in the following year.

I have a few races I've looked at for backup in case I do not get in on these so things look pretty good for me completing 6 this year. Who knows I might sneak one in September as well but no promises there. Also have Minnesota in 2010 that I am going to sign up for as well. This one is a lottery as well and later I'll detail out exactly why that is and why I am excited to run a marathon in January in Minnesota.

As always, my map and results:

Scheduled
March 29th, 2009 - Knoxville, TN
June 20th, 2009 - Anchorage, AK

Tentative
May 17th, 2009 - Green Bay, WI
October 11th, 2009 - Chicago, IL
November 1st, 2009 - New York, NY

Completed
February 15th, 2009 (3:29:16) - Birmingham, AL
September 20th, 2008 (3:39:05) - Park City, UT
June 14th, 2008 (3:50:22) - Williamson, WV
February 17th, 2008 (3:54:54) - Jacksonville, FL
November 3rd, 2007 (3:55:40) - Richmond, VA