September certainly opens the door for the fall racing season but October is marathon month.  So many great races.  So little time.  This year I did NOT register for the Chicago Marathon.  Yes, I love the race.  Yes, most of my IL and IN friends are running it.  No, I didn’t cave like I always do and toss up a huge entry free for a race that I’ve ran time and time again.  This year, I’m heading to Long Beach, California for the Long Beach Marathon. 

I picked Long Beach cuz it was 1)  on the same day as Chicago and 2) because my friend Lara moved out to the Long Beach area at the same time my family moved to Auburn, Indiana.  I haven’t seen Lara since their move and I can’t wait to see her and her amazing family.  We’ve spent so much time over the last 5 years pounding miles on dark trails (her and/or her hubby) that I frequently think about them while I run.  I smile with thoughts of the stories we’ve told a million times and can’t wait to create new ones. 

Long Beach won’t be what I initially imagined.  Lara is a super fast runner who never complains about my slower pace.  When I signed up back in February, I had thoughts of a new marathon PR.  I envisioned myself fit and fast.  I imagined the perfect race.  But life isn’t perfect, so my vision has changed and I’m not at all sad about that.  We will have a great time running the Long Beach area, singing, dancing and laughing over the course of 26.2 miles.  It’s going to be hot.  94 according to accuweather.  But we’ll be together and we are lucky enough to have another friend, my girl Julie M., along for the fun.  And fun we will be having.  Look at this amazing course.  Lots of blue water to bring us a breeze and beautiful sites. 

Since we are facing a hot race, I’ve reviewed a couple of my old posts about the week leading up to important races/marathons.  Feel free to check out the Race Week Do(s) & Don’t(s) or the Marathon Week post for pre-race tips.  For us, we will be hydrating with electrolytes all week.  We have packed the salt caps and our favorite run visor.  We won’t be carb loading so much as eating healthy nutritious foods with complex carbs, lean proteins and healthy fats.   It’s pretty apparent that nobody will be PRing on a 94 degree day, no matter how spot on their training or how amazing their fitness.  So we have put our expectations in check and we’ll focus on the positive:  enjoying our race, making sure everyone is hydrating and keeping up with fuel/electrolytes, and having as much fun as possible being together and doing what we love.  I’m thankful for crazy friends who think that fun = running long.

** Wishing YOU a Great Marathon Season With Crazy Friends ** Amanda – TooTallFritz