Everywhere I go, people ask me, "What races are you running this year, Brian?" I'm kidding. No one ever asks me that. Nor do they ask me to sign copies of my book. But that doesn't stop me from putting my John Hancock all over their personal property, anyway.
Therefore, without further ado, my tentative 2013 race schedule:
Italics indicate races I'm currently registered for.
March
- 10 - Kelly St. Patrick's Day 5K, Baltimore, MD.
- 17- Anthem Half Marathon, Virginia Beach, VA (To be honest, there's probably no way this is happening. I'm just putting off deferral until closer to the 3/8 deadline to see if there's a breakthrough, but I will probably do the 8K the day before, again.)
April
- 6 - Movie Madness 5K, Manchester, PA. (There's a half marathon, too. Even if I do magically get myself in half shape in time for Shamrock, I'll just do the 5K here.)
- 13 - Yuengling Light Lager Jogger 5k. Pottsville, PA (Hershey 10K is the next day, but we'll probably skip that one this year.)
- 20 - Sole of the City 10K, Baltimore MD
May
- 12 - HACC Dash 5K, York, PA
- 19 - YMCA Armed Forces 5K, Harrisburg, PA
June
- 1- Manheim Downtown Development Group: Rock-N-Glow 5K Race, Manheim, PA.
- 15- 1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut Half Marathon, Philadelphia, PA (not sure about this one...I HATE running long distance in warm weather.)
- 22 - Dreaded Druid Hills 10K, Baltimore, MD. I look forward to a measure of revenge here.
July
- 17- Harrisburg Mile. 5:59 or die trying.
August-September
- Probably a few 5Ks that I've either forgotten about or haven't heard of yet. Mostly training for November
October
- 12 - Atlantic City Half Marathon, Atlantic City, NJ. (Oops, forgot about this one that I deferred from last year.)
November
- 10 - Harrisburg Marathon, Harrisburg, PA. Maybe?
I'm not going to be kicking myself if I don't do a full this year (or even a half if the schedule doesn't work out). I'll be most likely targeting Shamrock again in 2014, but I just wanted to put this on the calendar as a stretch goal. It's a small race, so I wouldn't have to sign up way in advance to get a spot.
December
- 14 - Celtic Solstice 5-Mile, Baltimore, MD.
Right now, that's 11 races that are somewhat likely to happen for me this year. I didn't count the half in June or the marathon in November. In reality, I'll probably not run a few that I have on this schedule, but pick up a few more that I've forgotten about. One thing that's NOT going to change is the absence of Spartan Races on this schedule. On the other hand, if there's a race to raise money for helping victims of Spartan Race, I'd sign up for that in a second.
In a previous post, I complained wrote about how Shinsplints & The Mystery Bump (That's what I'm going to call my band if I'm ever in a band.) had wrecked havoc on my spring racing schedule.Well, I think things are starting to sort themselves out. I signed myself up for the "Sole of the City 10K" in Baltimore on April 21. I'll have build my endurance up, but I did a half our of high-resistance hill training on the stationary bike followed by a half hour of elliptical at the gym, and it seems like my conditioning will be fine, I'll just have to get used to the impact of running again. A couple weeks of rest seems to have done wonders for the legs.
If I'm committed to doing 6 miles on April 21, I should probably be back in 5K shape by March 11, so "yes" to Kelly Shamrock 5K as well. Townebank 8K at Shamrock Sportsfest in VA Beach? I think I'll wait as long as I possibly can to make that decision.
Broad Street 10-miler on May 6? That's probably pushing it. Instead, we're considering the Fit to Run, Fit to Dream 8K in Williamsburg, VA. If we run that one, it's because a race happened to occur when/where we were planning a trip, rather than planning a vacation around a race!
I'm sure I'll run the usual assortment of 5Ks in the summer, but it would probably be wise to pick my battles instead of running every single one for a PR. And the Harrisburg Mile, of course. Health permitting, of course, it's 5:59 or bust.
I'm still debating a full or half marathon in the fall. Right now, I'm leaning toward a half. That'll keep me from having to log 30-some mile weeks in the summer, when running is not my friend. I had a great summer of running, but I think pushing through the heat was part of the reason why I was so burnt out on running by October. And though the sample size is very small, it seems like going directly from the fall marathon to training for the spring marathon took too much of a toll on me. A fall half seems like it would give me my best chance to go to the 2013 Shamrock Marathon healthy and motivated. I could try an earlier fall marathon than Philly, I think my feelings about hot weather long runs are pretty well known!
