Getting Motivated for the Shamrock Full

I have been pretty lazy recently in posting to my blog, but mainly because I didn't feel like I had much to talk about. It's always been my philosophy that if I did not have something meaningful to add to the blogosphere, I should just wait until I did. Having now set the bar at that height, guess I better add something to the ether.

Running the Richmond Marathon in 2012
with friends from Cornerstone Striders

Like many of you who are training for the Shamrock full or half Marathon, it has finally sunk in that it is a mere five weeks away. Along with my running friends from Cornerstone Striders, I have been dutifully putting in the long runs to get my endurance up to where it needs to be. Although it's been a cold and snowy winter so far, I always feel like training in the winter beats the pants off those hot and humid summer runs getting ready for a fall marathon. While I don't love either extreme, I will take cold weather because I can always add another layer. So, the question becomes - what motivates you?

The 2012 Richmond Marathon was
my first full marathon

If it's your first full marathon, then the challenge of finishing 26.2 miles is plenty of motivation. I was also motivated for my second full by the drive to show that my first was not a fluke. But, what if it's your fifth or your tenth? What gets you up on a Saturday morning to do a 20-mile long run? It's a question I have been struggling with recently. I'm not sure if I know the answer, but, for me, I think it has to do with the fact that I still have something to prove. For me, it's showing that I can break that 4-hour barrier. I know I will do it one of these days, but, so far, it has eluded me. And, perhaps, that is a good thing, because when that alarm goes off before dawn on Saturday morning, I know what motivates me!