Planning the Plan

Registering for races is funny. For many of them to have to register months in advance just to make sure you get a spot. For others, you feel the pressure to register ASAP just in case they sell out. And sometimes you register just because you need something to motivate you. Especially for those of us that spend half the year in a winter "wonderland." There needs to be a light at the end of the tunnel. That light? Race season!

So, with that in mind, here are the races I already know I'm planning to run:

Race That's Good for Life - April 11, 2010

Wisconsin Half Marathon - May 1, 2010

Cleveland Marathon's 10K - May 16, 2010

Solider Field 10 Mile - May 29, 2010

And I'm still debating the Shamrock Shuffle 8K which is the official start of race season here in Chicago. Run or volunteer?

Plus, there's the marathon I want to run this year. I'm pretty sure I've decided on Chicago. Registration opens February 1st. Rather crazy for a race that isn't being run until October 10th! On the plus side, my parents can kill two birds with one stone: they can visit my brother on his birthday AND see me run my first marathon :-)

As you can see, my calendar is busy busy busy in May. 3 races in one month? How will I ever manage it all?

The plan is this:

1. Train hard for the half marathon and run for a PR.

2. Get my friend Rae in under an hour in the 10K

3. Enjoy the 10 Miler with my friend Holly. I've never run a 10 mile race before so regardless of the time it will be a PR!

4. Have the BEST May ever!

I don't think this is too ambitious at all. But I'm sure you can see why I haven't scheduled anything else out until October :-)

Anyway, I spent part of yesterday working on my training plan for the half-marathon. I've decided to incorporate both the Hal Higdon Intermediate Plan and the Runner's World Smart Coach plan and use the group runs I already do as part of my tempo, pace and speedwork runs. Check it out! And, as you can see if you click on the Runner's World plan, the Smart Coach seems to think I can run this race in under 2 hours. As that's my ultimate goal, I'm sticking with the speeds they suggest. Although, as Kristen commented on my last post, sometimes the speedwork is too fast the long runs too slow. So, I won't be upset with myself if I don't hit those times exactly.

This plan starts February 1st. I think the hardest part will actually be sticking to the slower speeds during some of the group runs. I'm just going to have to be upfront with people and tell them I don't mind being at the back and that I HAVE TO run slow to stave off burn-out and injury. I'll let you know how it goes :-)