I have made it to the light at the end of the marathon tunnel and discovered that I want to go find another tunnel!

About 30 seconds after finishing my first marathon I wanted to find another to train for in 2011. Luckily, I didn’t have to look far and I have a couple choices. First, the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is November 5th, 2011 and is in my own backyard practically. Second, a friend of mine whom I’m running with in April wants me to return to Kansas for a full marathon in mid-October. I’m not sure if I’m ready for two full marathons just three weeks apart. It’ll be my friend’s first full marathon so that should be fun, but now I just need to decide. I’m leaning toward Kansas City since the prospect of travel is always nice! I can run the Indianapolis Monumental anytime and if the weather repeats here in Indiana like last year it’ll be a cold run in November. Temperatures were dipping into the 20s for the Monumental in 2010. Perhaps that’ll be my 2012 endeavor!?!?!?!

Of course, I can never do anything the easy way so I mapped out a second year of running events with a healthy dose of ambition for a relatively new runner. I think that by the end of this year I won’t be able to claim the “newbie” title anymore…I have too many people hitting me up for advice at this point anyway!

Of course with it being a new year I need new goals!

1. First, is to not live to run. I did that in 2010 and I want to enjoy my summer more this time around including some easy runs at dusk just for fun.
2. Last year I lost 50 lbs and that was a good start. I need to drop another 20 to get down to a healthier range. Body fat percentage is still too high so that will be my primary focus.
3. I want to become a stronger all around athlete rather than “just a runner” although there is nothing wrong with that. I just mean that running won’t be 90% of my exercise like it was in 2010. More like 70%….

As I stated above, once again I have been ambitious in my scheduling just as I was last year. I have a feeling that just like last year I will be adding an event or two along the way. So here it is, my race schedule! What’s your running season look like?

Welcome to Brian’s Insanity v2.011:

• Walt Disney World Marathon, January 9th (Done)
• Lawrence, KS Half Marathon, April 17th (Registered)
• Indianapolis Mini-Marathon, May 7th (Registered)
• Carmel, IN Half Marathon 6-11-11 (Soon to be Registered)
• CarmelFest Freedom Run (4.5 mile) 7-2-11 (Perhaps)
• Kansas City Full-Marathon 10-15-11 (Most Likely)
• Indianapolis Monumental Marathon 11-5-11 (Perhaps)
• Drumstick Dash 11-24-11 (Too much fun to miss!)
• Indianapolis Jingle Bell Run 12-10-11 (Brrr, but yes…)

So once again I would like to  say that you should have goals. I had a great 2010 and I want to have an even better 2011! The reason is I had goals and ticked them off one by one!  Have something to train for out in the future. I always say that training for just another 5 pounds isn’t enough and will only motivate you so far. That’s why I’m considering two marathons within three weeks of each other.  I know I can run a half or a full-marathon…been there, done that. I know that in order to run two full marathons three weeks apart I would have to bring my training to a new level and decrease my body fat percentage over the next 9 months to be able to take on the challenge. I also know that this may be the next step for me to move beyond the 26.2 mile range which would make me an ultra runner. An ultra is defined as any distance race beyond 26.2 miles.  We’ll see if I explore that kind of race down the road, but it’s a thought for the future.

Happy training and have fun!

Brian

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