2008 Races
 

I'm trying to decide what races to run next year, and I'm torn. What would you guys do?

I'm toying with doing the Squaw Peak 50 Miler in June, and using both the Salt Lake and Ogden marathons as training runs. What that would mean is that I would end up running both of those marathons much slower than I otherwise would if they were the goal races. If I decide to go this route, I have to start training for the 50 miler pretty much now.

The other option is to start the Pfitzinger marathon training at the end of Dec., and run 3-4 marathons as fast as I can next year.

Either option is fine, I just can't decide what to do. Whaddya think?

I personally have no desire to do any ultrarunning, but having run support for my father-in-law at the Wasatch 100, I can see the appeal. To some people just finishing a marathon is a major life accomplishment. To others like yourself, its just another day at the office. It becomes more and more difficult to find things to challenge you. I say if you want something to really motivate you, go for the 50 miler. Of course, once you go that route, it will make it difficult to go back to doing "just" marathons, and a 5K or 10K is definitely out of the question.

I think that's pretty much it. I'm not fast, and I don't claim to be, but I've run 6 marathons now, and I want to see how I would handle a longer race. I guess I'm trying to decide if my challenge will be to run faster marathons, or finish an ultra. The other question is, can I maintain focus for 6 months of training, or will my ADD kick in? :p