2 Marathons + 1 Ultra in 56 days

I am counting down the 6 days remaining until I run 2 Marathons and 1 Ultra Marathon in 56 days. 

I have been training for these marathons since I signed up for them in January. It has not been easy training for these marathons. This year started with one of the coldest winter months in recent times. This year also started for me with injuries that I struggled with during each training run leading up to today. I started with a severe back injury in the first week in January and then moved on to injured hamstring muscles, inflamed piriformis muscle and shin splits. I was able to recover from the back injury in about two weeks, the shin splits in about a week but the hamstring muscles and piriformis muscle have taken their royal time in getting better. 

I kept running all winter and willed through the injuries to keep myself ready for these marathons. During this process, I did not give myself any prolonged rest. In the next 6 days, I will let my legs relax and recover from the injuries that have piled up. I will be stretching a lot this week, applying cold packs and eating a lot of carbs. 

I have two regular marathons and one ultra marathon to run. Each marathon is more difficult than the previous one. I scheduled it in this sequence to prepare my mind and body for running the last marathon that is supposed to be the hardest of them all.

On May 4th, I run my first marathon of the year. This is the Cox Providence Rhodes Race. This is considered a relatively flat marathon and I expect to set a new PR. Looking at the extended weather forecast, I see showers on May 4th with nice run-friendly temperatures. I am optimistic that this day will turn out to be good day for a run. This marathon will also serve as a practice run for my next marathon.

My second marathon is an Ultra Marathon. An ultra marathon is any marathon that is more than 26.2 miles. This course is on an off-road path with twists and turns and has a distance of 31 miles (50km). I have never run this type of distance before and thus I don't know what to expect out of this course and my body. This marathon is called the Salomon Trail Running Festival at Pineland Farms. This is a two-day event with a variety of scheduled races that range between 3.1 to 50 miles. I am excited about running the Ultra distance but I am more excited about seeing the variety of runners that are expected to attend this festival. This variety will likely include amateurs, average runners, and the hard core running types. I will come out of this experience a better runner.

My third marathon is the hardest of them all. Bay of Fundy International Marathon is set for June 15 in Lubec, ME. This marathon starts at the eastern most point of the continental USA, crosses the border into Canada and runs most of its distance in Canada. This marathon finishes in the continental USA. This is the hardest of them all because the first six miles of this marathon are relatively flat but the last 20 miles are non-stop hills. By the time, I get to the starting line of this marathon; my body will already have run a marathon and an ultra marathon. The two previous marathons will serve as a practice run for this marathon. 

When I think about these three races, I get both excited and nervous at the same time. I worry that I am going to get injured or that I may not be physically and mentally ready for the Ultra and the international marathon. 

I will never know if I don't try. 

I plan to be fully healed and rested before running my first mile of the first marathon. I am looking forward to running these races and taking this challenge head-on.