Races….er, Runs

I have filled out my racing (running) card for 2012. It is so tempting to run every 5K that is out there. Getting together with a couple hundred to many thousands of people to run for a charity is so much fun. There are all kinds of people – young, old, fast, slow, big, little, tall, short – you name it, they run. Plus there is always a t-shirt or a technical shirt commemorating the run. These are fun to collect and make good shirts to wear while working out. On top of that, there’s often food, pancakes, corned beef sandwiches, apples, bananas, and I’ll always run for food. But this year, I am limiting myself to a running schedule that supports my Chicago marathon goal. I’ve had to be thoughtful about which races I’m signing up for and whether they meet my training schedule. As it stands now, these are the races that I’m doing in 2012

April 15th,10K, NCO Spring Ahead run in Naperville, IL
May 26, Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field 10 Mile in Chicago, IL
Sept 9th, Ashleycan Pediatric Foundation Half Marathon in Bourbonnais, IL
Oct 7th, Bank of America Chicago Marathon in Chicago

There is a small chance that I will also run the RAGNAR relay from Madison, WI to Chicago, IL on June 8th and 9th. A work friend is putting teams together and if there is still an opening, I might just do it. That would be about 15 or 16 miles broken up into 3 segments over the 2 days and one night. It sounds like a hoot and if I don’t do it this year, it will be a goal for next year.

I will likely add a few organized bike rides to that schedule but no back to back Century rides this year.
I’m planning on using the bike rides and bike riding purely as a cross training tool this year. Unlike most people, I find bike riding BORING; too many hours in the saddle concentrating on the road. With running, you can talk to people, take in the scene and get it done without taking up an entire day.

With that, my race card is full. I’m surprised at how much I am enjoying having a specific training schedule, specific runs/races, etc. It is a lot easier to stick to a plan than to try to maintain fitness in a haphazard manner.

Diet Pepsi update. I’ve not been able to stay on the wagon. I was good for about 2 weeks but it has slipped back in again. I’m not even sure I’m going to try to stop, it just frustrates me!