It’s a little over 111 days until the NYC Marathon and I’m finally going to tell you about my plans for the race. Coming off of the disappointing London Marathon, I wasn’t ready to go full force back into fall marathon training even though I had entries to both Berlin and NYC. As soon as I knew I was running London this year, I knew I was going to defer my Berlin entry since it didn’t make a lot of financial sense for us to travel to Europe twice in one year. However, I didn’t want to miss NYC but I didn’t really want to train for it either. I’m not ready mentally for another excruciating training cycle with the pressures of the race looming over me. I need this time to remember why I love running.

I knew though I wanted to stay involved with Athletes to End Alzheimer’s (ATEA) and couldn’t imagine a NYC Marathon season without the group. I also have interest in coaching (my RRCA coaching certification class is in two weekends) so I volunteered to help Coach Ali and Brian with the team. The team is so special to me and I’m excited help everyone focus on their training for 26.2 instead of my own. Also, my cousin, Derek is training for his first marathon with the team, so please help me support him and the Alzheimer’s Association.

I still very much want to run the NYC Marathon in November, but without the pressure. I really enjoy this time where I’m helping with the team and getting my runs in either with the group or on my time. My personal goal for this year’s NYC Marathon is to be in good enough shape to run the race, but not necessarily race the race. I want to proudly support the purple singlet without the pressure of a time goal. I’ll reevaluate my fitness level as it gets closer to November 1st but I am planning on being in Staten Island with the team for the start, support all the runners, and soak in the excitement.

Since the beginning of June, I’ve kept up on my runs and cross training. I join the team on Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekend runs when I can. I run Tuesday morning speed workouts with GCTri and run my own easy runs the other days. I typically run my weekend long runs with ATEA while helping Brian and Ali. Yesterday, I led my first long run and it was a blast. No one got lost, so that was a plus! I am really looking forward to sharing my training experience with the ATEA team this season.

Last night, we finally watched Still Alice and it was heartbreaking to watch Julianne Moore’s Alzheimer’s disease progress. It brought back many memories of my grandmother and is a reminder of why Athletes to End Alzheimer’s and the Alzheimer’s Association will always have a special place in my heart. I am proud to be a part of this great organization, team, and look forward to an incredible 2015 NYC Marathon season with the group.

If you’re interested in supporting the Alzheimer’s Association, you can help Derek in his fundraising. We appreciate the support for my grandmother (his aunt), to help find a cure for this horrible disease, to support the services for those suffering from the disease, and to help raise awareness.