Tough Decision. Any opinions? I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon back in 2009 and enjoyed the race. Back then I was 52 years old and ran 3:16:31. That qualified me for Boston, but Achilles tendon problems made me hesitant to take the leap of faith and sign up for Boston. Hotel costs and entry fees for Boston are enormous. I decided not to take the financial risk.
Eventually, I ended up getting ASTYM treatments on my Achilles tendon. The therapy was extremely painful but incredibly effective. Since completing the Pittsburgh Marathon I've run about 20 half marathons. The most recent was this past Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. I covered the 13.1 miles in 1:25:57 and finished second in my age group--a personal record by almost a minute.
That new PR motivated me to consider another marathon, but I must confess I have another motivation. Recently, my latest novel, The Old Man and the Marathon, has been getting a lot of downloads at www.smashwords.com. In the novel an old man takes on the challenge of qualifying for the Boston Marathon despite a history sciatica problems. If I ever write a sequel, it will be called The Old Man and the Boston Marathon. Before I write it, though, I actually want to run the race. This means I must qualify for the race. Thus today's decision. Which will it be? Nashville, Pittsburgh, or Cleveland?
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/351449
or go to Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Old-Man-Marathon-ebook/dp/B00ESVLMOA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382654213&sr=8-1&keywords=the+old+man+and+the+marathon
or go to barnesandnoble.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-old-man-and-the-marathon-joe-ellis/1116763619?ean=2940148767169&itm=1&usri=the+old+man+and+the+marathon
I'm thinking of doing the Ashville marathon on March 16th.
ReplyDeleteIt winds all around Biltmore Estate.
http://ashevillemarathon.com/
That might be a good one for me to consider. I'm worried about heat at Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Thanks, John, for the suggestion. I'll mention it to my son-in-law Josh.
ReplyDelete