Marathon XV

Hot on the heels of my successful return to marathon running, I am officially registered for my 15th marathon (in my 14th state!):

The Shipyard Maine Coast Marathon on May 15, a point-to-point race in Maine from Kennebunk to Biddeford!

I am extremely excited about this for a few reasons:

I am taking it seriously, but not too seriously 
Instead of the intense training through which I put myself for the Myrtle Beach race, I am instead stepping back to using my own 10-week modification of the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 program.  No speed work, just mileage and a few pace runs.  I plan on running a 3:14:00 or better, but I am not even considering trying for anything near a PR.

Short turnarounds can be fun
After Myrtle Beach, I felt like I still had a lot of energy to spare and did not quite want to lose the fitness and distance that I had built up.  Sure enough, during the next week I ran a total of 29 miles after only two post-marathon rest days.  I have done some shorter turnarounds than this (six weeks between Clarence DeMar and New York City, eight weeks between Fortitude for First Descents and Central Park), so it should be no problem.

I missed a whole year
2015 was a bust, with zero marathons, thanks to my back injury.  Time to catch up!

New state, baby!
Maine, here I come!!