Well, I think my calendar for the year has finally fallen into place.
Right now, I'm at the height of spring racing season. My recent calendar has looked (or looks) like this:
April 27 wknd 5k
May 4 wknd 5k (1 second faster than the week before)
May 11 wknd half marathon (the longest I've run since the San Antonio marathon last November!) (PR)
May 18 wknd 5k (on my PR course, but PR is unlikely) (and the official start of marathon training on Sunday)
May 25 wknd half marathon
June 4 wknd 4 mile race
June 11 wknd -- no racing!
June 18 wknd 5k
Then my little mini-race streak will end probably as marathon training picks up. We've got a couple little trips planned (basically just long weekends in Nacogdoches and Kansas City), but really very little on the calendar for the summer.
But I'm most interested in how it looks like my fall schedule is likely shaping up (I'm putting the definite races in bold):
Sept. 20 wknd 5k
Sept. 29 marathon in Berlin!
(then we'll have a couple weeks of vacation for Oktoberfest and in Italy)
Nov. 2 marathon in northern California maybe (on trails, probably with my brother)
Nov. 17 marathon in San Antonio maybe (probably not for time)
Nov. 28 local Thanksgiving 8 mile race
Dec. 8 half-marathon probably (local race, but I might just cheer for friends)
Dec. 14 wknd 10 mile race in FTW maybe
(home for a week for Christmas, maybe visiting in-laws for the following week)
Jan. 19 marathon in Houston
Wow. If I do all of it, that will be 4 marathons in 4 months -- which in reality is not too crazy. I've done 3 in 3 months before, which was how I became a member of the Marathon Maniacs. But for some reason, this schedule seems far more daunting.
Here's to an injury-free and loooooong training season! My marathon training officially begins on Sunday.
I like it! All those races will help you stay on track with your training, I bet. It's easier to see progress in races and that keeps the fire for training alive.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I'm probably not going to make a big announcement or anything, and I might not even specifically mention my goal marathons, but they are Sioux Falls, SD in early September and then Baton Rouge Marathon in December.
We can commiserate together on training in the summer. Yuck.
I bet those are going to be two great choices. But yeah, summer... ugh.
DeleteYour run schedule looks intense! Super inspiring. I like how you plan ahead.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace! Usually a marathon requires at least 3 months of training, but frequently much longer since some require very early registration before they fill up, so advance planning is pretty much the name of the game...
DeleteInjury free is the name of the game! I love your race schedule. Mine isn't quite as full, but I'm getting really pumped up about my the next 6 months. Do running the 5Ks help with your time? I really hate them, but someone once recommended that I run more of them. Any thoughts?
ReplyDelete5ks help your time tremendously but only if you are not also working on distance. Attempting to build speed and distance at the same time is usually a recipe for mediocre results, if not injury. I think you're really right about to see the break in the half that you're looking for, but in terms of dropping another 10-15 minutes, the best way would be to focus on speed and short distance exclusively for about 8-12 weeks, and then go back to building up distance at a faster pace.
DeleteThanks so much. This is helpful
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