Back in the saddle again - welcome 2010 Twin Cities marathon season!

It's that time again! Team In Training is recruiting for their fall events, and I've signed up to complete the Twin Cities Marathon on October 3, 2010 again this year, raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I couldn't be more excited!

As a running experience, I'm a bit apprehensive this time around. My experience in taking on large, complicated tasks has been that the first time is actually a bit easier - it's the SECOND time that things can really go very differently. My expectations are higher; last year, I hoped to finish before the course closed at 6 hours and 15 minutes! (I finished in 5:33 and change, in the end.) I make assumptions based on last year's experience. Why aren't I running faster by now? Why do our 15-mile training runs seem to just wipe me out? Etc, etc.

This is probably not the most compelling blogging material to anyone but me, but with that said, I also have a sense of what went well last year and what to improve upon. While I expect to complete all my training runs, I know that I can be more flexible with daily runs, but the longer weekend runs really must be completed on schedule. I know what I need to do to improve flexibility and core strength to ensure I don't have the same IT band issues that I experienced last year. And I have a better idea of what to eat and feel full as those increasingly  long training miles start to make me feel famished all the time.

So - here's to being gentle. Gentle in my expectations and my critique of my performance. No matter how many times you cross, one never steps into the same river twice. And of course I couldn't be happier to accomplish these goals to benefit an exceptional cause - finding a cure for blood cancers, honoring those who have fought them, and supporting the families whose loved ones fight them.

I have two wonderful honorees in whose names I will be training this year. I may have a third - I will let you know soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to say "hello" and "welcome back." Team In Training will start training on May 15, a full month from now. Keep checking back here around that time - I'll be posting regular updates. And thanks, as always, for your help in reaching our goal of eradicating blood cancers. Onward!