Race Schedule: 2017 / 2018

2012 Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon

 I've been waiting for almost two weeks to see if and how the PNC Milwaukee Marathon organizers are going to adjust my marathon time based on the fact that the course was 4200' short. I've sent them an email, but haven't heard back. To take my mind off that debacle of a race, I decided to plan out my next season of races. I haven't finalized my schedule yet, but as of now here are some of the major races I've penciled in:

Eagan Parkrun:
I'm going to keep going at this one. I'm following a little training plan from McMillan Running to try and break that elusive 17 minute barrier. For a while I had the course record and then was tied for the course record at 17:14, but that was recently blown away by a runner who clocked 16:24, so a course record is definitely out of reach for me this season (and, let's be honest, probably ever). I thought about finding a flatter, faster 5k to aim for that sub-17, but the Parkrun is free and it'd be good to break 17 on a tough course.

I don't have dates set in stone for when I'm running this one again, but I'll probably shoot for the end of November and the beginning of December to aim for the sub-17.

Pensacola Beach Run:
My in-laws are renting a condo down in Florida for the month of January, so Laura and I are going to visit for a week and do a half marathon while we're down there. I don't have any set goals at this point, but based on the results of the last few years, it'd be cool to finish in the top five.

MDRA Races:
I'm hoping to get a good gauge of my spring fitness by racing several spring Minnesota Distance Running Association races: The Lake Johanna 4 Mile, the MDRA 7 Mile, the Ron Daws 25k, the Fred Kurz 10 Mile, and the Mudball Classic 4 Mile.  I'm not sure which all of these I'm going to run (I'd love to do all of them, but I doubt that'll happen). There are several that come free with the MDRA membership: The Lake Johanna 4 Mile, the MDRA 7 Mile, and the Mudball Classic 4 Mile. The others are are very reasonable -- the Ron Daws 25k is $5 with an MDRA membership, and the Fred Kurz 10 Mile is only $10 with an MDRA membership.

I'm mainly going to be racing these to stay in race shape and test my fitness, but it'd also be cool to set a PR at a couple of these distances.

Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon:
I've been looking forward to doing this one again. I ran a 3:02 at Wobegon in 2010, my first Boston qualifying time. I've said that this past year was my last try at setting a PR in the marathon, so I'm not going to approach this one as hardcore as I have in the past. This winter I'm going to train for less time -- training for a PR marathon was putting me in the ten hour a week range between runs and core exercises. So, I'm going to be running significantly less, and am going to focus more on supplemental exercises and improving my muscle balance.

Afton 50k:
This will be my third time running this race. As of now I'm planning on camping with some running friends and doing the race the next morning. I'd love to set a PR at this one, but finishing a 50k is a decent accomplishment, PR or not.

Surf the Murph 50 Mile:
If I finish, guaranteed PR. It'll be my first 50 mile, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. Since I'm no longer going to try to set a PR in the marathon due to the time it eats up, I'm going to keep my training for the 50 mile reasonable. I'm not going to commit as much time during the week as I did when I was training for a marathon PR. Instead, I'm going to bunch my training on the weekends when we have more free time, and get longer mileage in then.

I'm also planing on doing an indoor mile race this coming December -- I think the only one in the twin cities is the USATF Minnesota All Ages Indoor Track and Field Meet on December 17. I haven't given up my goal of setting a new indoor mile PR, but honestly the odds are not in my favor. I'll be coming out of marathon training where I never did workouts faster than 5k pace, and I'll only have about five weeks to get some mile specific work in before the race.

I'll probably also pace a handful of races. I really enjoy pacing -- not only do I get to help other runners reach their goals, I also get a long run in with the bonus of not having to carry water and/or sports drink with me. I'm thinking I'll probably pace two or three half marathons this year.