Ready to Find a Marathon

Good morning!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day in MD!  Finally.  After all the cold, ice and snow, it was wonderful to feel the sun on our faces.  I made it just over 6 miles yesterday.  I would have gone longer but I accidentally stopped my GPS app on my phone.  UGH!  So irritated.  I need to fire up my Garmin and wear it as a back-up.

Running is going well.  A little tenderness in my knee after the run so foam rolling was in order.  Definitely need to make that a priority after every run (I always say this after an injury and then it goes by the wayside after a few weeks.)  Any suggestions on how to keep at it???

The training schedule for the half is now in place.  YAY!  Next on my list is finding a marathon before the 50K in November.  This will serve as a training run leading up to my BIG race.  So here are the criteria I use to decide:

Time of year - the race date has to give me enough time to train adequately on the front end and than ample time to recover properly for the longer race. SO....if November is the longer race, I am thinking in the range of late August (though not great conditions for 26.2) and early October. A span of about 2 months.  Not bad.

Course - this is a big one for me.  I usually stick to flat courses - not a big fan of hills or mountains;).  But the 50K route is all rolling hills so I probably need to deviate from my standard.  I don't want anything too challenging (like Blue Ridge) but something to give me the hill experience over the long haul.  Also the 50K is a trail run so maybe a trail marathon?

Location - I don't have a problem traveling for a race but it is easier logistically and monetarily.  With that in mind - my first preference would be to find something in the Mid-Atlantic area.


Cost - Rock-N-Rolls are not in the mix.  Too much $$!  I think I will stay low-key and small.  For one - I don't want to get swept up in the grand excitement of RNR and go balls to the wall.  Have to remember - training run, training run.  Plus, I would love to save the dough to do a destination race sometime in the winter - thinking someplace warm!

So there are the four points I need to consider.  I have done some initial research but nothing in-depth.  Any ideas/suggestions?

Do you put a lot of thought into race scheduling or do you just wing it?  I used to sign up for events on a whim but now that I have matured (HA!) I try to plan things so I don't waste registrations.