I guess this is really happening - Wisconsin here I come!

So I started doing some math - with 14 years to get this thing done and 49 more states to do, I've got to run 3 and a half marathons a year.  I really should have started this in my 20's, but I guess I didn't really think about my health back then as much.  Oh well.  If I plan to do 2 in the fall and 2 in the spring every year then I'll get this done with room to skip a few here and there.  But I better get cracking now!

Since I've already registered for the Chicago Marathon and am near the end of this training cycle, I figured why not add another one this year to see what it feels like to run multiple ones close to each other?  Travelling far is out of the question since this was a last minute idea, so it has to be a neighboring state.  I checked out marathonguide.com to see what was upcoming and there was Dawn of the Dunes in Gary Indiana, but that was on the 27th, just two weeks after the Chicago one.  Not sure I could handle that...

Indianapolis has one too in November, on 11/02, but that's also the date of the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k which Mae wants to run.  Don't want to step on her running plans either.  So that left Madison's Marathon on the 10th of November, which gives me a month to recover/taper, and with fellow Ragnarian and ex-coworker Courtney running the half, I might have a running buddy!  Madison it is!

But my heart sank a bit last week as I found out that it was sold out just weeks before.  But there was a waitlist that I could sign up for, so on the list my name went.  But yesterday I got an email saying they had a spot open up for me.  So I guess there's no going back now, since I just dropped $105 and I'm now officially invested monetarily towards achieving this crazy dream.  I still have to run a 20 miler this weekend and apparently Hal Higdon's multiple marathon training plan suggests I put in another long run right after the Chicago Marathon.

This could get ugly.