Full-on Fall Insanity

May has almost drawn to a close and Memorial Day is upon us (bathing suits...oh no!!!). I understand that for most (sane) people, this means that summer is here. For me, it means the start of training season. I know, I know; you're thinking "Didn't you just finish training for something?" The answer is yes; the NYC Half Marathon, which I ran in 1:57:17 after dancing in shows the two preceding nights. That's not too bad, right? Well.....that's over now.

So, what's on tap? Plenty. Since I ran two full marathons last year, I decided that's not a bad number to stick with for this year. This year's challenge, however, is that I am going to run both of those marathons within four weeks of one another. (I never claimed to be sane.) This year, I am running the Chicago Marathon on 10/10/10 (cool, right?) and the New York City Marathon on 11/7/10.

Why, why, why would I do that?! As you all know, these are the two places that are nearest and dearest to my heart. As you know, I share the love with two charities. I also have additional reasons for running both races, and here they are.

Chicago
I absolutely loved running Chicago last year and had to return this year: 1) to smash my time from last year; 2) it's a supercool date for an event and hopefully there'll be some supercool associated swag; 3) to kick it with my crazy friends who are also running 10/10/10; and 4) to smash my time from last year. Did I mention smashing my time from last year? Yeah. It's a really flat and fast course, and I'll be trained and ready to kill it in October.

As was the case last year, I am running Chicago for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. They love their runners so much that they even covered the (not cheap) entry fee for anyone who has raced for them before. Sweet!! As you know, last year I ran this one for Zoe whose family has used the services of RMHC while she was getting treatment. This year is no different. Show them some love and help me cross that line in Chicago by donating to my page at: http://www.active.com/donate/RMHC2010/kellyk

New York
What can I say? I've been here for a little over a decade (yikes!) now, and I love this city. Plus I ran nine races and volunteered for one with New York Road Runners and got automatic entry into the Marathon. This is a good thing because last year I tried to get in through the lottery. That didn't work out so well. But, I spectated the hell out of it!!!

So, this will be my first time running the awesome and inspiring New York City Marathon!! I will NOT be racing this one for time (I say now) but to have fun with those crazy running friends (many of whom are also running Chicago) and get some hometown love from my people in NYC! And by hometown love, I mean that someone can carry me home after the race.

Of course, I am running this one for the cult of purple: Team in Training. I am also a mentor and the Brooklyn team's social captain for the season. So, NYCers, you know you like crashing our post-run social events anyway, so show us some love and donate for the NYC Marathon at http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyc10/kkocinski

Chicago or NYC: which side are you on?! Prove it. Let the fundraising wars begin!!
Chicago: http://www.active.com/donate/RMHC2010/kellyk
NYC: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nyc10/kkocinski

There will be an honor roll with a city designation on this blog. There WILL be kick-ass post-race parties in both locations. There will be blood...or at least lost toenails. Stay tuned...