while my swimming has picked up, my running has been non-existent. for roughly 3 months. it's been part burn-out, part injury, part wintertime blahs. after letting a whole month of the new year tick by without so much as a trot around the block, i'm making february the month i fall in love with running again.
saturday, i'm running a 5k. the same one i ran last year to kick off my running season. i certainly won't PR, like i did last year. i may even have a personal worst. even so, i'm going to do my damnedest to run every inch of the race, even if i resort to the kind of shuffling you see bleary eyed marathoners do in the 24th mile. i really do expect to do horribly. but that's ok. i'm hoping the black and white numbers of my crappy time and the burning in my lungs will light a fire under my ass.
the real race i'm training for is on april 5. it's a 10k through the carneros vineyard. the $30 registration fee includes a tshirt (duh), pancake breakfast, commemorative wine glass, wine tasting, and a raffle ticket for more schwag from the winery. pretty sweet, huh?
i've got to get in good shape by then because the second half of the year is when i have my big races planned. in may, i'm planning to run bay to breakers. i have planted a seed in several of my cousins' minds about running/doing it together. let's hope they come through.
the summer brings several options. in june, i had originally planned to run a 10k through a different winery, whose amenities include a big barbecue party, but i might swap that out for the napa-sonoma half marathon in july. and i would start marathon training the week after that. i'm planning to do my training with a group this time.
i have 3 opportunities to do the aquathlon, as it is held once in june, july, and august. i'm guessing that i won't be ready until august, if i'm ready at all. open water swimming ain't no joke and if i'm not ready to swim 1.5k without the safety of a pool, i'll find a different swimming challenge. and then there's the matter of wetsuit vs no wetsuit. blech. i'm not trying to be a quitter here, just realistic.
i'm aiming for a december marathon. CIM is the front runner, but las vegas is a close second. i also considered seattle, which is the end of november.
7 comments:
Sounds like you have plenty of back up plans, which is great.
A race is always a good way to find your "starting point". Good for you and I hope you do well.
California hosts a lot of wine races don't they? Damn, I wish there were more wineries here in FL -- nothing motivates me like the thought of a tasty beverage at the end of a race.
Good luck with all of your races for the calendar year! Sounds like you'll be busy.
You've really given a lot of thought to how you want the year to go for you, and I think that's great. That's what I need to do, but I've been a little distracted- you know, with moving 2,000 miles away and all.
Make sure you have fun this year w/ your running!
Running and wine tasting... I swear, it doesn't get much better than that!
Good luck on your 5k! The one I did last weekend was the fire under my ass that kicked me back into running and a start to the racing season. Have fun!
Nice list of races! I highly recommend the Napa to Sonoma half- I have done it twice and maybe doing it again this year. Ditto for CIM.
Sounds like you have an eventful year planned out. The aquathlon sounds really interesting. Keep building up your strength and endurance in the pool and you'll start feeling more confident about the open water.
Good luck with your 5K this weekend. I did my first last weekend and, after seeing my time, got me to up my distace and speed a bit.
Mmmm that Carneros 10K sounds lovely... and the 1/2 too... lucky girl with all sorts of fun races around you!
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