I know what you're thinking... "Competitive? Who the hell am I going to compete against?"
Cliche as it is, the answer is, You. Sorry, but only a couple of us... actually, a couple of you, have any shot at placing in your age group at this point. And none of us will win a race unless we put it on ourselves and not tell anyone else, or absent a major cataclysm, like Cesar Chavez opening up and swallowing the rest of the field. Not being mean, it's just the reality of running for the vast majority of runners.
What we can all do is go out and compete against ourselves, see how far our training's gotten us, see how much we can squeeze out of our bodies, our minds, and our wills. Also, you get some nice swag at some of these races, and the pictures are often funny.
Running races also gives you events to look forward to so you don't feel like you're training in some horrid six-month void, just running, running, running without end. Furthermore, I've built some races into your training plan.
I keep mentioning the Silicon Labs Relay on September 30, but I'm hearing little response... It's a fun team event.
For the Upstarts and half marathoners, I'd like to see you race these:
- IBM Uptown Classic 10K, October 21
- 3m Half Marathon, January 27
- AT&T Half Marathon, February 17
- Some 5K's and 10K's along the way - Race for the Cure (11/4), Livestrong (10/13)
For the marathoners, I suggest you go ahead and run the Distance Challenge:
- IBM Uptown Classic 10K, October 21
- RunTex 10 Miler, November 11
- Decker Challenge 20K, December 2
- Hoover's 20 Miler, January 7
- 3m Half Marathon, January 27
- AT&T Marathon, February 17
For the Distance Challenge, you have to buy your own timing chip, so they can track you through all the races. They run $37 at RunTex, but after that, you never have to mess with or pay extra for chips at races again.
I'm going to check on discounts for some races, so stay tuned, but start planning on doing these races. If you have any questions or concerns, let me know. Also, if cost is an obstacle to your entering a major race, let me know and we'll see what we can do.
1 comment:
Hey everyone, I went tBettysport (again) today and those women are amazing. They know their shoes, they know their apparel and they know a ton about running in the city. Like where is the best place to go for a night run. I swear any question I asked them they know the answer to. It is so much more than just a store although I have to say the do have the cutest stuff around. My only complaint is that every time I go by, I can never just pop in and grab something. Don't get me wrong they are not pushy just super helpful and supportive. Plus they are all runners, yoga enthusiasts, bikers, walkers, etc. So when you ask them so are these shorts good to run in, they can give you intelligent real world feedback based on their actual use of the products they sell. If they don't have it they can get it It is pretty cool to walk in to a place and have evryone ask so how's the training going and actually care to hear the answer.
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