Anatomy of a race schedule.
Dealing with the injury the only way I know how. Pretend it isn’t happening.
Looking forward to 2018.
I’m not quite far enough along in the stress fracture recovery to see the light at the end of the tunnel (week 2ish of 8ish).
So with that in mind, time to look ahead to all the fun things I’ll get to do next year after I [very] patiently return to running.
Am I torturing myself?
Maybe.
RTO 2018
Captain Nick started the RTO 2018 email thread and it is already lit. Old millennials, like ourselves, love our email threads.
The first weekend of June is sacred.
It is reserved for friendship; running; eating an unbalanced diet; having a lot of difficulty using the restroom.
And spreadsheets. So. Many. Spreadsheets.
With that being locked in as a tasty goal for my return to racing, it is time to fill in the rest of the calendar.
The magnetic force of the marathon.
With only one honest crack at the marathon way back in 2014, I feel like I have some unfinished business and I’d love to get below 2:50. [I didn’t get my money’s worth in Chicago because of my injury-riddled training cycle].
And after Jadd absolutely crushed at CIM last weekend running 2:45, I am inspired to throw the distance back on the calendar for 2018.
Currently, it is mid-December and I am in a walking boot. So the key factor will be timing.
The definitely, no doubt, way too soon, Napa Marathon. March 4.
In an ideal world, the Napa Valley Marathon would be perfect.
But the world is far from ideal and that race is on March 4. Not even close to enough time to build up from my stress fracture.
So that’s out.
The probably too soon but I am very intrigued by it, OC Marathon. May 6. 👀
I have been brainstorming this one with Trevor who is ready to pop his marathon cherry this year. The course is flat and we can stay at Trevor’s parents house in Seal Beach. Both plusses.
Race day is May 6.
If everything goes perfectly, I should be able to begin a training cycle in mid-February which makes May 6 feel doable.
The problem is the whole, “everything going perfectly” aspect of the plan.
A safer bet might be to build very, very slowly and plan on running the half at OC while supporting Trevor in his debut.
So there we have it. The first extremely tentative [read: optimistic] race of the year: The OC Half Marathon. May 6, 2018.
June = RTO Season
If things are looking good, I’ll tune up at Marin Memorial Day 10k and be ready to roll for the main event at RTO June 1–2.
There is the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon on June 2 but that is sacrilegious.
That is RTO Weekend.
Next.
Okay, this could be a possibility. SF Marathon. July 29.
There are definitely positives to this race:
Date. Eight weeks post-RTO. I can safely recover from RTO and use my residual fitness from my presumably flawless spring training block. Proximity. A short car ride away makes it very appealing. No hotels or rental cars. Weather. 5am start in SF in July should be pretty perfect weather.
Annnnd the negative. This course is hilly.
SF is on the list but probably not at the top because of the hills.
Back where it all began? Santa Rosa Marathon.
Flat. Fast. I know the course from 2014.
This could be an option.
The downside is the race isn’t until August 26 which is a long time post-RTO to stay fit.
Tahoe Rim Trail
Nick, Abe and I are also scheming a long weekend to tackle the ~170 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail sometime in late summer. So that is another mark against Santa Rosa.
Okay. The tentative schedule.
- Training Begins: Mid-Feb
- OC Half Marathon: May 6
- Marin Memorial Day 10k: May 28
- RTO: June 1–2
- SF Marathon: July 29
- Tahoe Rim Trail Adventure: Aug/Sept
*Maybe* CIM or Redemption at TNF 50 for a fall goal race?
Let’s see if I can survive the spring before I start making too many plans.
Injury inspiration and hope from random race report from person I don’t know who crushed CIM last weekend.
I’ll start by saying that in March of this past Spring, I suffered an injury that killed my opportunity of a Spring marathon. I was heart broken. I had wanted to race the Shamrock Marathon badly. Truth is this was a blessing in disguise. My body got 45 days of training off. It was a fresh start. One I didn’t want or think I needed but I now believe was crucial to this past Sundays performance. After this break I had a long SLOW build up that was absolutely uninterrupted. I basically had 8 months of consistent training for the first time in years.
Maybe this injury break isn’t the worst thing in the world?
