I Daydream of Marathons...

I've recently been observing a ream of posts from military wives completing the Kingsville Base's Iron Goat extravaganza. This is where one completes a 26.2 mile run, rides 112 miles on a bike and swims 2.4 miles throughout the month of August. Upon completion, they even get a t-shirt! You GO GIRLS! I must admit that in my competitive nature, I'm a little jealous. This made me daydream about my marathoning days. For those of you that want to hold me to my word, when I turned 20 years old I said that I wanted to complete 10 marathons before I turned 30...I still do. Here are my stats so far:

Age
20: Paris Marathon

21: rest
22: Chicago Marathon

23: nada
24: zilch
25: 'scuze me but I'm prego
26-30: ?

Two DOWN eight to go...So, I've kinda fallen away from my goal but that doesn't mean that it's unachievable. Imagine the kind of x-training I could have with a stroller in tow; I could be a muscle woman! So here's how it's going to happen: I've gotta do two races a year until I'm thirty. This will all depend upon where we live in the future, but here are a couple notches I would like in my belt:

Grandma's Marathon
Why Duluth, Minnesota? Why not?!? This is a smaller and scenic course that follows Lake Superior in the beginning of June. I normally like to run in cities, (with lots of visual distractions), but my step-dad is really wanting to do this race...and who would ever deny a race buddy? With a name like Grandma's Marathon, this may be the best lead into the continuation of my goal. Click HERE to see their website.

Marine Corp Marathon
A friend ran this race a couple years ago and loved it. This race began in 1975 when Colonel Jim Fowler saw a decline in the support of troops after the Vietnam war. This race is the 4th largest marathon in the U.S. and takes place in the streets of Washington D.C. Fall in D.C. should be pretty beautiful and I always enjoy reasons to promote our troops! Click HERE to see this years race information.

Rock and Roll Marathon
These marathons take place in several cities across the U.S. As a victim of good tunes while working out, I would love to run along a course that wouldn't require my iPod. Click HERE to see the possible locations - I'm leaning towards the Nashville, San Diego, Seattle, or Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll marathons. It will probably depend upon where we live.

Chicago Marathon
This was a great race the first time around and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Running in the streets of one of my absolute FAVORITE cities in the world is an incredible feeling. It's also nice to carb up on chicago pizza, cheesecake and beer...at some point.

Honolulu Marathon
My brother ran this race and every time he wears his Honolulu shirt, I want to steal it. (It's a bad case of marathon t-shirt envy). He said it was a beautiful course because not only does the island pack a natural beauty, but the race starts at sunrise with fireworks. After running in a race all day, you can spend the latter part of your day with a Mai Tai looking over the pacific. Since this race falls in December, you can think of all your friends shoveling snow - but, hey, you just ran a MARATHON....in Hawaii....heavenly.

Boston Marathon
What marathoner doesn't want to run in the Boston Marathon? My required qualification time (for a female between the ages of 18-34) is 3 hours and 40 minutes. That's an 8 minute mile pace for 26.2 miles....wow. OR - I could do some fund raising and try to get in through a good cause. I raised money for the Chicago Marathon for "Girls on the Run" - which encourages young girls to be physically active and proud of their bodies for life - it's a pretty cool organization. Fund-raising would be great, but qualifying for that race would be pretty darn amazing too.

Grade A Boston Carbs...

As for the other TWO marathons, I'll play those by ear. I would love to have at least one other international venue like my Paris experience. I like the idea of either of the Berlin, Greece, or Amsterdam races....THOSE would be pretty amazing...Runner's World has the World's Top 10 Marathons listed. Which one would I want the most? Which one of the above races would YOU like to run with me?

Guess I'll need to get training after the December due date!