What’s that old saying — make plans, and God laughs? 

#NowMoreThanEver, during this pandemic life we’re all stuck in, this rings true. 

Back in December, I registered for the Runners Marathon of Reston, scheduled for April 11 in Reston, Virginia. Obviously, I knew the race could ultimately be canceled, but it’s a small race — less than 1,000 runners — so I thought there was a good chance it could proceed as planned. The race organizers said they would refund everyone’s money if the race was canceled due to COVID, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose. I started training, following Hal Higdon’s Advanced Marathon plan, with an April 11 marathon date in my mind. 

I also found my March filling up with opportunities to run live races. And before I knew it, I was planning on running a real, in-person race every weekend! 

Then, three days ago, I got the email from Runners Marathon. Canceled. Unsure if they’ll be able to get permits for the race. 

Luckily, I already had a backup plan in mind — The Tidewater Striders BQ Marathon Invitational in Chesapeake, Virginia on March 27. The race is only for people who have already qualified for Boston and want a faster time and better cushion, like me, or for people who have run within 20 minutes of their BQ time within the last three years. Runners had to submit qualifying times from previous races to be admitted into the race, so I registered with my Chasing the Unicorn finish time from last fall. 

This obviously chops two weeks off of my training plan, but I’m not too worried. I feel excited and ready. It does royally screw up everything I had planned to do, running-wise, in March. Here’s a look at what I was going to do, and what I’ll be doing instead. 

March 6-7: I was supposed to run the Little Patuxent River Run with Rip It Events. Due to COVID protocols, the half marathon and the 10K were going to be held on separate days, giving runners the opportunity to run both races if they wanted to. When I signed up in November, I decided I wanted to do both races. At that point, the race(s) were scheduled for the last weekend of January, and I wasn’t even sure then if I would be able to run a spring marathon. 

But then, race weekend was postponed until March due to COVID restrictions. I was already a bit nervous about running a trail half marathon, followed by a trail 10K, a month out from a marathon. Plus, the races fell on a weekend when I was supposed to be running 20 miles one day and 10 miles one day. So I basically would have had to tack another seven miles onto the half marathon and four miles onto the 10K. Not ideal. 

When I realized I was going to be running a marathon on March 27, I got even more nervous. I’ve run LPRR every year that Rip It has had the race, and I love it. I’ve run both the half and the 10K. But let’s face it, I am not a trail runner and the potential of me tripping and falling and maybe hurting myself is definitely there. Do I want to risk that three weeks out from a marathon? Nope. But I didn’t want to miss the race, either! In the end, I decided to just do the 10K, which will be on Sunday, March 7. I’ll run my 20-miler the day before, then on race morning, I can warm up for two miles, run the 10K, then cool down for two miles. And I never really push the pace when trail running, because I get too scared, so I’m not worried about going too hard.

March 14: After I ran Bishop’s Events’ Before the Game Half Marathon, I posted my picture on Instagram and they chose it as their social media pic of the week, rewarding me with half off the registration fee for a future race! I saw they were having a St. Paddy’s Day 5K, 10K and half marathon on March 14 on the C&O Towpath, and so I registered for the half marathon. I could race a half a month out from a marathon.

But do I want to race a half two weeks out from a marathon? That worries me. Yes, I could go and run it at an easy pace, but I’m too damn competitive for my own good. I’ve placed in all of the Bishop’s races I’ve done, and it would be hard for me to hold back, knowing that I could probably do it again. So, I asked if I could transfer into a different half marathon later this spring, and Travis, the owner of the organization, said that was fine. So I’m going to run the Georgetown Half, also on the C&O, on May 23. 

March 21: Staci and I are running the Lucky Charm 5K in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on March 21. I am still running this, but I was originally planning on racing it. I will not be doing that a week out from a marathon. Yes, I’m competitive, but 5Ks have never been my jam and the marathon is more important to me …. So I’m just going to have to show some restraint. My goal is to not run it any faster than marathon pace. 🙂 

March 27: I was signed up for the Barlowe Bolt 5K in Millersville and was hoping to defend my title from the October 2020 race. Now because of the marathon, I’ll be a big ol’ no show that day. Luckily, the money raised through the race registration fees goes to a good cause — upgrading the neighborhood’s playground.  

So — that’s that! As for my goal for the BQ Invitational, I’m still hoping to run around a 3:30. I think my training shows that I can. I need to make sure I don’t go out too fast in the beginning and I also just need to have a good day! Marathons can be so unpredictable, and sometimes you can do everything right in training and it can all go to hell on race day. My “B” goal is to run any BQ time (under 3:40:00 for a 40-year-old woman) because everyone who qualifies gets a special prize. 

I can’t wait!