bitter magnet

ok, and just yesterday i decided to change my marathon plans slightly..instead of doing the Nike Marathon in San Francisco, I've decided to shoot for the Maine Marathon (in Portland, ME). There were a number of reasons for this, namely 1) I had wanted to go to SF so my family could be there, but i'll already be seeing them in July (for the Wine Country Half Marathon) and then in September/October for my cousin's wedding. 2) The minimum amount required to go to Maine is a lot less ($1800); I'm not entirely sure I could raise the $3800 to go to SF (and i wouldn't want to have to drop out of the program as a result). Furthermore, if i raise more than $1800, a higher percentage of the money i raise will go to research programs/patient services, which is good. 3) Since the Maine marathon is 2 weeks earlier (October 3, as opposed to October 24), the timing fits much better (the July 11 half-marathon fits in perfectly, and also since classes start in September i'd like to be done with training earlier on).

And just random info: according to this site, Boston is 100 miles away from Portland, ME (straight-line distance). According to Yahoo Maps, the distance from SP to the marathon location is 107.8 miles (estimated travel time of 1 hr 49 min). So i guess it's basically just a 2-hour drive away, which isn't bad at all. That weekend, Michael & I can just rent a car (drive up there on Friday evening, then stay 2 nights and leave the afternoon after the marathon is over).

Oh, and the website predicts weather in the high 40s at the beginning of the race (7:45 am!) and high 50s-low 60s towards the end. For me, that's perfect, since anything above 55 for me is uncomfortably hot. In last year's half marathon, the weather was in the low 50s (slightly raining) and it was great.

Anyway, i'm so excited now, and i haven't formally begun the training yet (the first training session is Saturday, May 15).