Thursday, February 21, 2013

Building a race calendar

I love working on my calendar for the year, & trying to find races that look fun. It gets me all motivated & tingly. :-) One of my goals for 2013 is to run 10 races in the year, so my criteria is a little stricter than usual. Here's what I'm looking for in a race:
  • The date has to work for our family calendar. That comes first, especially given the volume of races I want to do.The one exception to this is Hood to Coast, as obviously, that's a fixed date & I'm running with a team.
  • I want something super local, to cut down on travel time/time away from the family/general inconvenience. I love running a race in the morning & still being able to hang with my crew in the afternoon.
  • Most of the races need to be cheap. Hood to Coast surely isn't cheap, & I have a budget ($1200)  I need to stick to this year. That means no bailing last minute on races, & smaller races.
  • I prefer smaller races anyway - they just feel more fun, & I hate the hassle of looking for parking, etc.

Here's my tentative lineup for the year:
  1. January - ran a 5 mile train race. It cost $15 & was about 10 minutes from my house. Win/win!
  2. March 9th - Lake Sammamish Half Marathon (already registered)
  3. April 7th - Mud & Chocolate Half Marathon (trail race, in Redmond). Not registered, & this will depend on Michael's travel schedule. We may be at the beach instead.
  4. May12th - Mother's Day Half in Kirkland
  5. August 23rd & 24th - Hood to Coast!
  6. September - work charity 5K. Date TBD.
  7. December - Jingle Bell 12K - Kirkland. Date TBD.
I still need three more races for the year, so if you have anything to recommend, please do! I especially want a few in June & July.

And, I'm happy to report that I got up at 5:00 am TWICE this week to run. I'm on track for my planned workouts, & have my last long run on Saturday (12 miler) before my March 9th half run. My goal for that race is to get a PR. . . so below 2:23. I should have a good feel for whether that is possible after my run on Saturday. Fingers crossed!

I couldn't resist sharing this picture of (one of) my Valentines! This was Nick in Hawaii in November. Michael is still digging out our pictures from that fabulous trip. This boy is so cheesy, & I adore everything about the picture. The smile, the glasses, the tank top (his choice for a Hawaii souvenir), the pose, all of it!


What about you? What's on your race calendar for the year? How do you choose races?
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10 comments:

  1. Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's BlogFebruary 21, 2013 at 9:52 AM

    Most of my races are chosen because they are local, I don't have much of a budget for travel. I have three half marathons, one Ragnar, 1 5 mile, 2 10ks, and a couple of 5ks on the schedule. I love races :)

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    1. Running GirlFebruary 21, 2013 at 10:49 AM

      I'm with you - the budget for races is crazy! I don't want to travel (would rather spend my racing budget on actually racing), so it all has to be local. I'm lucky because we have a place on the Oregon coast & my sister leaves near Portland, so I don't have to pay for hotels for Hood to Coast. Are you running it again?

      Also, do you have a large number of local races to choose from? Wasn't sure if there was a big running community in Montana (think that's where you are :-)).

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  2. Rachelle QFebruary 21, 2013 at 4:03 PM

    Wow, way to get up early for your runs:) I am doing the hot chocolate 5k March 3rd Seattle, North Olympic Discovery Half mary June 2nd (I think)Port Angeles. Survivor Mud Run on June 7th Seattle. Have a few more to sign up for, but those are for sure. The NODM is a great race! Highly recommend it:)

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    1. Running GirlFebruary 25, 2013 at 8:38 AM

      I'll have to check out the NODM - I'm looking for a race in June!

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  3. RoseRunnerFebruary 21, 2013 at 9:48 PM

    I can't help at all, because I only know about races in CA....is Eugene far from you? Or is that like 10 hours? I dunno...nice that you have a schedule though, prices are always cheaper earlier! I'm terrible at getting those early prices!

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    1. Running GirlFebruary 25, 2013 at 8:40 AM

      Eugene is about 5 hours each way, so a little too far. I'm with you - I'd rather pay more & register late, but know that a race will work with our schedule. Things change a lot, & if I sign up for too many too early, I'm bound to have a confict with something & lose my registration fee. Which drives me bananas.

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  4. Jen FeenyFebruary 22, 2013 at 9:41 AM

    Looks like a pretty solid line-up already, good luck in all!

    Your son is adorable!!

    As for your race, believe to achieve my friend. You've got this.

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    1. Running GirlFebruary 25, 2013 at 8:41 AM

      I thought of your "believe to achieve" on my long run this weekend. It truly helped, so thank you, because your comment made it happen.

      He is a pretty adorable guy - and a total cheesebuster. He's now into telling fart jokes & dancing to "Thrift Shop".

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  5. Stephanie@nowirun.comFebruary 22, 2013 at 7:20 PM

    Creating a racing plan for the year is exactly what I'm working on right now! It's not easy to do because of all of the hurdles you mentioned. Good luck with that! I don't have any races to recommend. I'm way too new at this!

    Love the picture of your son. He is rocking those shades!!!

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    1. Running GirlFebruary 25, 2013 at 8:41 AM

      He is rocking those shades. Hilarious.

      I thought I found an awesome April run, but I think my nephew is coming up to visit that weekend (which will be fabulous!), so I need to find something later in the month. It's a work in progress!

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