Weekend trip to train

So I've got this friend up in Wisconsin, and he's training for his first marathon this spring. He says I got him motivated to do it, but I'm not buying that. His wife is a triathlete, and I suspect seeing her compete had much more to do with his wanting to compete in endurance events than I did. In any case, he and I are a part of an actuarial discussion forum (Yeah, fascinating. I know) that has a "Health & Fitness" section where I said I'd be posting my training plan for Nashville. He came up with the great idea of traveling to each others' homes for a weekend to train together. That sounded awesome to me. Downright brilliant!

So on the weekend of March 19-21 I'll be in the Milwaukee area, running with Troy. I can't wait. I've never spent any time in the Milwaukee area. Just been there for a couple of Bucks games, so I'm looking forward to it. Plus, to have a good friend to get through these training sessions will be a big help. I remember last year sort of hitting a "training wall" about 12 weeks in. Not a fatigue wall, but more of a "I wish training was over and it was race day" wall. I was finding it tougher & tougher to get out the door. So these trips couldn't come at a better time in the schedule.

Then, he'll be coming to Cincy the following weekend, where we'll not only be training, but running a tune-up race. The Mercy Heart Mini-Marathon 15K. We'll actually be racing the day AFTER a 20-mile training run. That worried me slightly at first, but now, I think that's OK. My original training plan actually had an 8-15K tune-up race for Saturday, followed by an 18-miler the following day. Flipping that around, running 20 miles with Troy instead of 18, THEN racing will (instead of giving me an evaluation of my current fitness level) give me a lower bound of my current fitness level. I think I might prefer that. That should help me maintain a conservative approach. Add to that, he's never been to Cincy. So Susan & I are already thinking of things to do, places to eat, that are uniquely Cincinnati. Gotta think Skyline may be involved!

He booked his flight a few days ago, I did last night. It's official! I'm ready to go!  I'm thinking the next time we do this should be a weekend trip somewhere we'd both love to run, and "the queens" in our lives would love to visit.