Race Round-Up

Image from http://www.skirtsports.com


Last night was an easy 2 mile "recovery" run. I thought about doing it outside, but A. I didn't really have time between work and Pilates, B. It was kind of chilly outside, and C. I was afraid if I ran outside I would run too fast. So, instead, I hopped on the treadmill at the gym after my Pilates class. I did a short warm-up walk and then ran 2 miles at 5.6 MPH at a 1% incline. Perfect.

Yesterday I also signed up for another race. It's the Skirt Chaser 5K on June 13th. I wanted to do it last year but I didn't find out about it in time. It's sponsored by Skirt Sports, hence their logo up there at the top of this post. My keychain is actually from Skirt Sports as they were one of the sponsors of the first 5K I ever ran. Anyway, this race is too funny. All the women start at 5:00 PM and the men start at 5:03 PM. The idea is that the men have to catch the women. I mentioned it to Jason last night and he actually said that maybe he should train to run a 5K and do this with me. How awesome would that be???? Regardless, this race is awesome for several reasons. One is that if you pay for the "Deluxe" registration you get a sweat-wicking tanktop AND a running skirt along with your goody bag and entrance to the beer tent and post-race party. I've always wanted a running skirt and this seemed like a great deal since the skirts typically retail for quite a bit. But the other reason this race is awesome is because I'm planning to run it with Lindsay! I've never run a race with a friend before and now this year I've two planned. So fun.

I've also volunteered to help with gear check at the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle on March 29th. I'm doing that through PAWS (a local animal shelter). Seemed like a nice way to give back to the running community and hopefully meet some new people.

So now I've got races lined up for April, May (the Chase Corporate Challenge on May 21st), June and July. Whew! I like to do one race a month. There are so many to choose from, though, that I feel a little overwhelmed when it comes to picking which one I'm going to do. I like routine, so after July I'll probably end up doing some of the same races I did last year. My basic criteria for choosing tend to be based on how close the race is to my house, who the proceeds go to, and, of course, the distance.

For those of you reading this that race, how do you pick which ones to do?