Upcoming Races

Lots of racing ahead... 4 races over the next 6 weekends!

First is the Victory Races 10K and 5K "Double Header" next Monday (Labor Day). I won a free entry into this race at the Lake Johanna 4 Mile back in March, and it was good for the 10K, the 5K, or the "double header." I figured if it's free, I might as well suffer through BOTH races.

So I'll be racing the 10K at 8:00 a.m., and then I'll be racing the 5K at 9:30 a.m. That sounds like fun, right? They have special results for those doing the double header where they add your times up. Last year (when it was HOT and slow), the winner of the double header did it in 49:00, which was a 32:xx 10K and a 16:xx 5K. That's nuts. I'll see if I can crack the top-10 in the double header. Check back next Tuesday to see how I did. (And watch my twitter for race updates on Labor Day.)

Me being out-kicked by a 16-year-old girl at last year's Victory 10K.

The week after that, I'm probably doing a half marathon. I've been sworn to secrecy about this, but you'll learn a bit more as this race gets closer. This should be entertaining... I promise.

This will most likely be my only half of the year, whereas last year I did 3 half marathons and a 25K (15.5 miles). So I'm a little nervous having not raced this far in the last 12 months. But I've been getting my mileage up there: in April, May, and June, I logged 80, 82, and 90 miles of running. July was lower (70 miles) because I was doing a lot of shorter and harder workouts for the Midsummer Mile. And so far in August, I've ALREADY CRACKED INTO TRIPLE DIGITS!! That big of a spike would USUALLY be scary for me, but I've learned that running FARTHER is easier on my body than running HARDER, so these 100+ miles in August will be less injury-prone than my 70 miles of hard running / racing in July. I went 13.5 nearly 2 weeks ago, and 14.6 just a few days ago. I think I'll be ready! (I hope!)

Photo taken 2 days after my 14.6 miler - this blister on my pinky toe looked nastier 36 hours before.

Then 2 weeks after that (Sept 21st), I might be doing a duathlon relay at Treadman Duathlon. You'll never guess who I'll be teaming up with. You all remember pro triathlete Devon Palmer and the smack talk that lead up to the highly anticipated Gear West Duathlon relay showdown, right?

Intimidation.


Relay team vs relay team.


Post race smiles.

Well I think we might be joining forces for this race!

He's better at smack-talk than I am. :(

It's not a 100% "done deal" yet, but we're hoping to be racing together in about 4 weeks.


Finally 2 weeks after that (Oct 6th) is the TC 10 Mile. My family got in again this year! We got in 3 years straight (2009-2011), and I ran 1:02:43, 59:05, and 1:01:20. I'll have a better sense of what I could do at the 10 mile after my 13.1 in a few weeks, but I'm thinking it'll be in the vicinity of 1:02:00.

2009, 2010, and 2011 at the TC 10.
Gee, what should I wear this year?

The TC 10 Mile and the Victory 10K / 5K Double Header are slightly more "for fun" races - I'd call them "B races." (The TC 10 could end up being a "B+ race.") But the half marathon and the possible relay with Devon will be closer to "A races." Stay tuned for all the action!

p.s. If you missed it, check out my last post for some good news in my job search. :)