I’ve been wanting to do a post about this (or share it somewhere on my blog) for a few weeks now, and today Salt posted a Link-up that fit perfectly!
I spent the first half of 2014 training for and recovering from the Raleigh Marathon. I was waiting to sign up for other races until I was feeling ready (physically and mentally). I signed up for The Philadelphia Marathon soon after Raleigh, since it was so far out and I wanted to register before the price increase. Other than that, I didn’t have any races scheduled.
A few weeks ago I signed up for a 6k (which I ran last weekend) and from there I found myself suddenly signing up for race after race. Like spending way to much money on this stuff all at once. I finally feel like I have a plan for the rest of the year (although I haven’t registered for all the races I plan to run. I want to be able to continue paying rent and bills and such).
So, here is my race plan, with Philly as the final BIG goal. I haven’t figured out my plan for it yet, or decided on what my training will look like. But #1 is stay healthy. Also, I want to wait until after I take the RRCA coaching certification course to decide on how I will train. I know I will learn a lot that weekend, and I want to incorporate it into my training!
Saturday, June 14th: Baltimore Ten Miler It will be my third consecutive year running this. Its always hot, the course is hilly, but the shirt is nice and they give you 2 free beers at the finish.
Sunday, July 6th: Molly Murphy Memorial 5k My sister’s coworker is coordinating this race. It’s to raise awareness for anxiety and depression in young adults, in honor of her cousin who lost her battle with anxiety and depression at 23 years old.
Saturday, August 9th: Charles St. 12 miler I missed this race last year, but it sounds like it will be a great (downhill) race through Baltimore. And I will finally get to meet Salt and Laura may be able to join us as well!
Sunday, September 14th: Run to Remember I ran this in 2011 and 2013. It was Rob’s first race ever in 2011 and they had unlimited beer at the end. In 2013 there was no beer. But I was already informed that DuClaw is sponsoring it this year and there will be beer again! (Wow I am sounding like I only choose races that serve alcohol at the end. Well yea shouldn’t they all?)
Saturday, September 27th: Hamptons Half-Marathon My friend from high school is planning to do this and we are trying to get a group of our friends together to run it. I am hoping to convince some non-runners to sign up and once I’m a running coach I want to start an training group to get everyone ready for it!
Saturday, October 18th: Baltimore Half-Marathon The Baltimore Running Festival is in my backyard, so there’s really no excuse not to run it. (And there’s beer at the finish….and on the course.)
Sunday, November 23rd: Philadelphia Marathon I plan for this to be my goal race although I don’t know what my goal will be yet. Probably to go for that 3:50 I was chasing in Raleigh but at the very least I want to break 4 hours. I loved this course when I ran it in 2011 and hopefully the weather will be decent at the end of November.
The Philly Marathon was my first full in 2011
So that’s my plan for the rest of 2014! I’m sure there will be some changes…maybe some small races added in, maybe some races I’ll chose not to run. But it feels good to have a tentative plan.
Do you plan out all your races in advance or sign up at the last minute?
Who else is running any of these races?
I am also running philly and it will be my first time! Specifically like the end of November for the cold. Same idea to wait until after coaching course to figure out my training. I’m really hoping to train for a PR!
Yes! Hopefully it will be ideal running weather. It will be great to be able to follow along with your training!
One of the good and bad things about marathons is that you have to plan in advance–I wish there was some wiggle room if you got hurt/had a bad race and needed a redo or something like that. I don’t race a ton, so my races are usually pretty planned out, and there are usually few of them!
I know what you mean. I like signing up early to save money, but then so much can go wrong. Sometimes I think that since I don’t do big races alot I end up putting too much pressure on the one or two races a season that I train for. A redo would be a great option:)
Love the schedule! Looks like some really great races too. I’ve only got bigger ones on my schedule right now for the fall but I’m dying to go on a bit of a race spree and pick 4-5 smaller races to add.
Race sprees are fun! I think I like planning my races similar to you…big races first and then plan some small ones leading up to them.
Hooray for the Philly full marathon!!! I am hoping for good weather, too…and to survive that hill!! I have my race schedule mostly planned out. Just waiting for the race across the Ben Franklin Bridge date to be announced!
Sounds great! I can’t wait to follow along with your training as we’re both getting ready for the marathon!