2016 Race Season Is Here

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One of the top questions I’m asked by family and friends (aside from, “Did you eat all the chocolate yourself?” and “Do you really think that’s an appropriate thing to blog about?”) is “What’s your next race?” 

I recently saw some social media post from Eventbrite where they were asking runners about their upcoming races and what they liked best about racing and if they would ever consider designing their own race.

 [Answer to the last two questions: What I like best is being done and eating free food at the finish line. And any race I design is going to be rigged so that I win everything. Duh.]

 But regarding that upcoming race thing, I’m in a weird place. For almost 10 years, I’ve run two marathons a year. I would pick them out at the end of the calendar year, target them, train for them and knock them out. But something odd and more than a little scary happened to me a couple of years ago.

I got tired of racing.

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2014 Hinson Lake 24-Hour-Run: The Third Time's The Charm

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Before the start gunI made it to the banana lap. I’ll pause to allow the significance of that statement to sink in.

For those unaware of what a banana lap is, when you run a 24-hour loop, on what is most likely your last lap you’re handed a banana with your bib number on it. When the horn sounds announcing the end of the 24-hours, you set your banana down so they can measure exactly how far you ran during the race. (Sobbing with gratitude that it’s finally over is optional.)

This was my third year running the race. Year one, I got 62.1 miles. Last year, 76 miles. This mile, my official total was 86.341 miles.

This year’s race stood out on several accounts. Here are a few highlights.

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Race Planning for 2013

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I don't think I've ever run a marathon where at the end of it I didn't declare, "That's it. I'm taking a break--no more marathons for me anytime soon!" Then I eat half a pizza, drink some (okay, a lot of) beer and am planning my next marathon before the sun sets. 

Things are looking different this year. Something in Richmond broke my spirit. I'm tired. I've been running two marathons a year for the past 5 years. I need a change.  

No marathons are one thing. No racing is something completely different. I need a goal. Without one, I won't run. Or won't run hard enough or long enough to keep my conditioning. I've worked hard to build speed and endurance and I'm not willing to let all that just go out the window. 

So I've spent the last couple of weeks stalking race web sites. Particularly a lot of ultra and trail race web sites. Here are a few I'm considering: 

The January races all appeal to me but there is the small problem of I haven't run over 10 miles in a long run since Richmond. I need to start getting in some 15 and 20 mile runs in the next few weeks and I'm not sure I'm ready for them.

I've got a couple of shorter distance races coming up--Run at the Rock this weekend with my friend Christie and a holiday 5K. I may end up skipping the longer January races and maybe do some serious training for the NC half. Or I may just wing it and show up at the start line for everything and see what happens.

Or I may just drink some beer and see how it goes.

Cheers,

Dena 

24 Hour Ultra: Already Feeling The Love

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The 24-hour ultra challenge is this Saturday and I'm pleased to report I am feeling MUCH calmer about it. I finally got it in my head that I'm just going to go out there and see what happens. If I make it the full 24 hours, awesome. If I make it for 12 hours, okay. If I run screaming from the 1-mile loop after 30 minutes...well... who among us will really be surprised?

I have to say I have been overwhelmed with support from my running community. Friends are sending me e-mails, good wishes, and I have a whole host of people showing up at different times during the day to run a few laps with me and offer encouragement. Given that this race is over an hour outside of Greensboro, that's a quite a time commitment for someone to do on a Saturday. I've been so touched this week by the generosity of my friends. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it - the best thing running has brought me is friends. Wonderful, supportive, fun, loving, caring people. I'm so lucky. 

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