Home Ownership - Thinking Out Loud Thursday

It's been just under seven months of living in my new home, and I must say I'm LOVING it.  Being on my own schedule has been so wonderful, having my belongings around me helps me to relax a little more, and that feeling of "Adultness" is creeping back into my life.  I had dearly missed feeling like my life is my own!

Slowly, the rooms are coming together.  There's so much work to be done still, but I have plenty of time to make this house truly my own.  For now, I have a comfy, useable living room and bedroom; a fully functional kitchen with my own food stocked in the pantry; a nice office that's just about complete pending some wall art; and a craft room that is unfolding one day at a time.  Some rooms need accents and decor, but for the most part the house is liveable.  My "dining room" is giving me some trouble, since I'd rather have it be more of a mock solarium/hippie nook than put a table I'll never use in there and essentially losing the room...  And my basement will be an ongoing battle as I figure out how to arrange my storage, but eventually it'll include a game room and a home gym (which of course you'll see grow and develop right here).

Kaalia finally seems adjusted and actually is allowed free roam of the house while I'm out, which gives her the same sense of freedom I've been enjoying.  I also recently managed to get some fencing up, however temporary, in the sections of my backyard that needed barriers.  Now she can roam free when I let her out instead of being hooked on her yard leash and confined to a small section of the yard.  Playing Frisbee is so much easier now!

I'm finding that with a home totally my own, all my messy tendencies are slowly vanishing.  I do the dishes and the laundry regularly.  I keep my rooms tidy.  I put things away and am even getting a better system in place for organizing my clothes, accessories, crafts, and kitchen items.  Something about this perfect home has me finally believing in myself in new ways...  I've even revamped my wardrobe to dress in ways that make me feel good and confident!  The pieces are finally coming together.

It's amazing how freeing independence can be, isn't it?

Don't forget to check out the Thinking Out Loud linkup to see what other bloggers are musing about this week!  Thanks to Amanda at Running with Spoons for hosting!

What sets you free?  What brings out the better parts of you?

Marine Corps Marathon: Final Thoughts

Okay, it's been a full month since I ran my first marathon.  I've posted highlights, both good and bad, from my experience while the race was fresh in my mind, and now I've had plenty of time to let the full weight of the Marine Corps Marathon sink in to give some final thoughts on my MCM experience.

The most common question I've fielded since finishing MCM is "will you do another marathon?"  That's been a tough question for me to answer.  Physically, I am more than capable of completing the mileage again, and I'm honestly missing my training schedule.  It was the first time I've really stuck to independent training, and now that I'm not doing anything structured or for a big goal, I've gotten a little lazy again.  My monthly half marathon goal is still going strong so I have some running still on the schedule, but not as frequently or reliably as I had grown accustomed to all summer.  Though I'd love to believe I can get myself into that kind of running again without a particular race goal, I know myself a little better than that.  Weather and work schedule will most likely to continue providing convenient excuses until I have a concrete training goal - such as another marathon.

But the bits of bad taste in my mouth after my DC experience makes me wonder if I really want to deal with the sea of people that comes with a flashy headliner marathon, and I still wonder if a less hyped race will be downright boring for 26.2 miles after a race with as much pomp as the Marine Marathon.  Every race is different, every runner's experience is different, and the next marathon might be all the things of which dreams are made...  There's no way to know unless I pull the trigger and do another.  Plus, I know I can run a marathon faster than I did in DC!  So for the time being, the answer to whether I'll do another is a very heavy maybe.

I still can't believe, even a month later, that I actually was struck across the face by another runner.  That moment is the single most prominent memory I have carried with me since the race.  None of my runner friends can even wrap their heads around why on earth someone would slap another runner for a little accidental shoulder bump, and I can't either.  For years now, I have thought the running community was basically full of the greatest people on the planet after all the positive experiences and connections I have made through racing.  Sadly I now am noticing more and more negatives in the community.  That's certainly not to say that all runners are bad now, but I DO seem to have had my eyes opened a little to notice runners who are not quite as amazing as others.

I've also been feeling underwhelmed by the feat of running, which used to seem like a huge accomplishment.  Quite frankly, finishing a marathon didn't feel much different from finishing any other race.  I kept thinking I was maybe just in shock and that the weight of the accomplishment would eventually settle; this has not yet happened and I am pretty sure it won't.  I ran a race.  It happened to be longer than my others.  I don't feel special, I don't feel more accomplished...  And I think this boils down to having a greater understanding of my own strength.  Running used to be new and unusual, something I never thought I could really DO.  Now, though, I run a half marathon every month.  I do training runs of 18-20 miles on random Sunday nights.  There's nothing new or exciting about the act of running anymore.  I still enjoy it and don't feel "burnt out" from running by any means; I just don't feel like it's something noteworthy in my life anymore.  It's just something that I do frequently.

Life goes on, even post-marathon.  I learned some things about running, racing, and even race management from my experience, and of course I really did finish a marathon, so the race wasn't without positive takeaways.  I suppose I had higher expectations for how I would feel afterwards and am a little frustrated with how blase I feel about the whole ordeal.  I wanted this race to change me.  Maybe it did and I haven't noticed yet.  For that, only time will tell.  Right now, though, I know that I'm not sure I'm satisfied.  It's depressing to write this because I wanted so badly to be able to write about the revelations of marathon training and running - but I just can't.  They weren't there for me, not in the way I had assumed.  Running will continue (and I have my November half marathon recap coming up soon), goals will continue, training will continue, and blogging will continue (whenever there is time).  Fitness is still my world, and has still done incredible things for my life.  More incredible things are to come.  It's time to move on from this experience and start looking for the next one!

What big event in your life proved to be underwhelming, or even downright disappointing?  Do you think I have the marathon blues even now?  How do you reinvigorate yourself after realizing you overhyped something?

Time Limit Races

Warning: this may very well be an "unpopular opinion" post.  It's also Thinking Out Loud Thursday, so it's not the most structured post - just a mish-mash of some of the thoughts that have popped into my head as my first marathon creeps ever closer.  I'm not against people of all ability levels participating in events, but it's about selecting the event that is RIGHT for you, not just something flashy that happens to be popular but isn't actually a good fit.

I'm talking about races with limited entry numbers.  Lotteries and qualifiers that receive HUGE numbers of applicants trying to register, but are forced to refuse entry to many runners simply because the course cannot accommodate.  These races usually take place in large cities, like New York or DC - and of course I'm mostly going to focus on the Marine Corps Marathon because that's the one for which I have the most firsthand knowledge.

MCM has two time cutoffs on the course.  If runners do not complete the section of the course prior to The Gauntlet at mile 15 or the 14th Street Bridge at mile 18 (called "Beating the Bridge" and formerly at mile 20) in the allotted amount of time, they are swept from the course and are not allowed to finish with an official time.  Runners need to maintain a pace of 14 minutes per mile to stay "alive" on the course.  MCM also has a limited registration field, and there are thousands of participants each year who are unable to compete because of the overwhelming number of registrants.

My question here is, how many people are entering the MCM lottery system with hopes to register knowing they cannot uphold the 14 minute pace requirement?  And a follow up, how many of those people actually receive spots in the race that are essentially nullified by their inability to finish?

This is on my mind because I know there are many people who would love to participate in this event, but cannot because of the many people attempting to enter - but these people are far faster than I, and would certainly complete the course in the allotted time.  Conversely, there are many people who are well aware they will not likely make the cutoff who are posting on Facebook and other social media about getting in via the lottery.  I've even seen some people say things like "this will be my third attempt, I have yet to complete the course but hoping to move faster this year!"  This is a person who knows they will not likely finish the marathon, who hasn't finished before, who is posting exactly nothing about any kind of training to make it appear like they're trying harder, and who is taking one of those spots another runner could have won.

Last year, I wrote a response to a quote from running great Steve Jones that claimed he doesn't "believe starting and finishing a marathon makes you a marathoner."  In my response I defended the slower runners, the people running to beat themselves instead of running to win the race.  Everyone who completes a marathon IS A MARATHONER.  That's not the argument I'm trying to make here, and I will never, ever belittle a person's incredible accomplishment.  My problem right now is, sure you want to finish a marathon at your pace, but why not find a marathon that doesn't have cutoffs?  Why take a highly coveted spot just because it's a higher profile race, instead of choosing an event that will actually accommodate you?  If you can't Beat the Bridge, you can't finish the Marine Corps Marathon, which means you will NOT be a marathoner!

Many many marathons will accommodate any pace.  There may not always be tons of course support if you're finishing in six hours or more, but you'll still be allowed to finish.  Someone will give you a medal and a time and put you in the results so you actually CAN be a marathoner.  I wouldn't do MCM if I didn't honestly believe I could complete it.  And I wouldn't feel right attempting it, being rerouted because I didn't Beat the Bridge, not receiving an official finish time - and then saying I did the Marine Corps Marathon.  Maybe some of these people don't mind fudging the truth a bit when they don't make the cutoff.  Maybe they still claim they finished, and that's on their conscience.  If you want to do a marathon, yes please do it!!!  But, let's find you one you can actually DO, eh?  Don't you want the accomplishment to be true and meaningful?

A marathon is a serious undertaking.  Finishing a marathon is a huge accomplishment (no matter what pace).  There are plenty of opportunities to earn the accolades, though.  Let's save the time limit courses for the people who can reasonably expect to finish within the restraints.  Everyone has bad days and DNFs, but if you know you're going to be walking something like the MCM at a slow pace, maybe it isn't the right race for you.

So there's my rambling about marathons with time cutoffs and the people who attempt them with more than a reasonable doubt about their chances of success.  Again, I believe everyone who can cover 26.2 miles safely can be a marathoner!  But you should be able to do it on your terms, and a time limit race isn't always the best place for that.  If my Thinking Out Loud hasn't dissuaded you from checking out what other bloggers are thinking about, head over to linkup host Running with Spoons to read more recent randomness from the blogsphere!

What do you think - is it a bad idea for someone to register for a race they know they won't be able to finish, when there's a limited number of spots available?  How do you feel about people who don't actually complete courses but still claim to be a finisher?  Any suggestions for great races with no time limit?