Once again the year didn't quite start off as planned but thankfully not due to injury. No, as far as that is concerned I am well and my training is going great. I had planned a surprise return visit from Ultraman at the Frosty 50k this weekend but a bit of snow and ice has cancelled that idea. FF was the site of my current 50k pr from 2010 and I had hopes of attempting to lower that pr this year. I'm not sure if I really had a shot at it because I still haven't really gotten in the long runs I was expecting to have but I did recover quickly from the marathon 4 weeks ago and my body feels great. The race has been rescheduled for 1-21 but I'm 99% sure I won't race then. It was already a little too close to my next race so I will just move on. Here is what I have on the schedule so far for 2017.
Feb 12th. The Run for the Roses 5k.
I really didn't have plans for this but after it was named the RRCA 5K State Championship and the race director Elizabeth Werner called me out and challenged me to add it to my collection , I decided to go for it.
March 4th. Florence Forth 10k in Durham.
No particular reason other than I want to race a 10k.
March 25th. Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon.
Looking forward to returning to this one. Goal is sub 1:39 and make the podium again.
April 8th. Kal-Haven Trail 33.5 miler. Kalamazoo MI.
Ok, Ultraman gets his shot at a 50k pr. The race is 2 miles longer but I'm going for the split and if I die the last 2 miles then I'm ok with that ! And if I do get the pr I may be able to hold on for the Senior GM course record !
April 29th. Promise Land 50K++
Another time for Ultraman to shine. Maybe. Hoping that my friend and co-worker Candida joins in this one and we both feel great and have good weather. One of my all time favorite trail races.
May 21st. Green Bay Marathon.
Hopeful recovered enough to run just fast enough to get a Boston qualifier and see Lambeau Field.
June 4th. Rocky Mount Mills 5k.
It can't be as miserable as last year can it? Hope not and I can go for a fast time and another podium spot on this fast course.
I'll probably try and hot some pop up miles and Godiva meets again in June also. I would like to race track 5k which I didn't get to do last summer as I had hoped.
July 8th. Grandfather Mountain Marathon.
I look forward to returning to one of my favorite events. This is the 50th anniversary of the race and I hope to give it one last shot at a sub 4. And if I do I have a good chance of being 1st Senior GM. That would be awesome !
July 15th. The Scream Half Marathon.
Never done this one before but thought it would be fun to bookend a week in the mountains. A mostly downhill course will make it interesting to see just how fast I can go if I'm not too beat up from Grandfather. Should make the podium based on previous years results if i have an average day.
August ?
My plan for the second half of the year is to compete in the Running Journal Grand Prix Series. This was started by Racing South Magazine 40 years ago and was continued after Running Journal bought them. I have participated in some of the races several times but never made an effort to score in the series. This year I plan to not only compete but I have every intention of winning my age group and hopefully the Senior GM division.
The series runs from August until next May and right now the full schedule hasn't been announced but I expect it will kick off in late August with the Midnight Flight 10 in anderson SC as usual. I'll make a separate post on this later in the summer when the details are set.
September. ? Nothing planned so far until I get the Grand Prix series schedule. If there are no series races I will find something local thats fun.
October15th. Detroit Free Press Marathon.
I was looking for an Oct marathon and decided to go run Detroit. Why Detroit of all places ? Well, back in 1998 and 1999 I spent every other week working in Detroit and I haven't been back since Jan of 2000. I thought it would be nice to visit some of the places I enjoyed while I was there. Its a fast course, goes into Canada and the weather is typically great for racing. I hope to run fast and move up a few corrals at boston. That is if I get a BQ in May !
Nov 3rd. City Of Oaks Half Marathon.
I've never entered any of the previous races but I'm leaning heavily on giving the half a good run and a podium spot if nothing pops up on the Grand Prix schedule to conflict with it.
November 19th. Magic City Half Marathon. Birmingham AL.
This is dependent on whether it stays on the Grand Prix schedule like it was for 2016.
December 12th. Rocket City Marathon. Huntsville AL.
This is a great race put on by a strong running club for about 40 years and has always been on the RJ Grand Prix series as far as I can remember so I plan to be there. It also earns double points ! Always tough competion so making the podium would be only from having a very good performance but scoring goes 8 deep so I have to race if I am serious about the series.
Thats it for now. I'll fill in any holes in the schedule as things develop over the coming year. Stay tuned for some fun filled action and hopefully another amzing year !
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