Wildflower’s Done, What’s Next??
Coming down the finish chute at Wildflower. That Pablove Triathlon Team kit looks damn good!
And here’s a finish line video from Wildflower. Push start and you can see me coming into the finish. My signature pink hat stands out nicely.
Wildflower is behind me and the only other 2011 race I’m signed up for is SOS in mid-September. I’d like to sign up for a few other races, but first, there’s a bigger question to answer – what kind of races do I want to do? Do I want to do triathlons, road races or trail races? I know there’s some overlap, and with SOS on the horizon, I’ll need to continue swimming, cycling and running, but since I only want to add a couple more to my schedule, I need to make some choices. The only thing I know for certain is that I will not be doing an Ironman or 100 mile ultra this year. I’ve had one of those on the calendar each of the last four years and physically and mentally, I need a break from that kind of distance and the disciplined training it requires.
For starters, I just signed up for this Sunday’s Pasadena Half Marathon. I haven’t run a non-triathlon half marathon in over four years, when I ran my 1:31:55 PR at the April 2007 New York Road Runners Brooklyn Half Marathon. I’d like to beat that PR. I’m in very “different” shape now than I was then – I have four more years of endurance racing experience and 13.1 miles no longer seems nearly as long as it used to. On the other hand, as I mentioned the other day, so many years focused on going long has made me sacrifice speed over endurance. Either way, I’m interested in setting a benchmark time on Sunday to see where I’m at with road racing. I guess I’ll find out on Sunday!
Then, I’d like to do two or three other races between this Sunday and SOS. Depending on how Pasadena goes, maybe I’ll find another half marathon to do or maybe I’ll look for a summer road marathon. I’m also considering the Santa Barbara Triathlon (Long Course) in late August. It’s a little close to SOS, but I might be able to make it work. Depending on my dad’s cycling schedule, I might do the Grand Tour double century on June 25. There are a few 50k or 50 mile ultras either before or after SOS that I’ll look at as well.
In other words, I have tons of options and no plan. I sort of expected to write this post and find the answer. Any suggestions?? Stay tuned!
Trail runs trail runs! Find a fun 50 miler maybe, or a couple of 50k’s?
Have you done SB Tri before? If not I highly recommend it. I did it 2 yrs ago and loved it!