The Next Race

I wanted to title this post Planning Your Race Card but worried about the erroneous assumptions which would be suggested. But the fact is, I do mean planning your race card, and it has nothing to do with ethnicity, but about .....well.....races. I guess I could find motivation to train without a next race on the horizon. After all, we do this for our well being, for our health, and as an excuse for eating ice cream. When I used to be a drinker I would reward myself with a beer for every mile. You pretty much break even on calories burned and calories consumed. I haven't calculated yet the ratio of miles to dips of ice cream, but I have switched to a lower fat, fewer calories ice cream.

But back to the original topic, planning your race card. I train better if there's a race on the horizon and I brainstormed through today's 6 mile run where and when I want to run the next several races. On the near horizon looms the 3M Half Marathon in Austin. I love that race. It's the first distance race I ever did and it gives me a good measure of what I am gaining or losing with each passing year. Right now I feel pretty good about running a new personal record (PR) in January. This will keep my training honest and it might even prompt me to do some speed work on the track. After the 3M, the next race on my schedule is the Texas Independence Relay (TIR), as much a logistical challenge as a physical challenge. I look forward to it.But that leaves open the month of February and here I am toying seriously with attempting the 50 mile Rocky Raccoon over at Huntsville, Texas. I would never have thought about my race history as being a resume, but that's how Carroll Voss refers to it. I like the idea. Thus far my resume includes too many 10Ks to recall the number, 3 or 4 half marathons, 6 full marathons and 2 50K ultra marathons. The Beach to Bay Relay Marathons have been fun, ditto the 2 TIRs. Still lacking on my resume is a multi-day race run in stages (Marathon des Sables is an exotic example - 145 miles total, run over 6 stages in 7 days, across the Sahara) and the more extended ultra-marathon distances of 50 and 100 miles. This, of course, is where Rocky Raccoon comes into play, maybe. I still haven't decided for sure, but it's definitely playing with my mind. Hmmm...

Then there is something completely different but which might trump one or two running events. The idea of scaling the Pico de Orizaba, an 18,490 foot mountain in Mexico, seems to be moving up my short list of potential adventures. While I lived in Coatepec, Mexico, a small coffee producing town in the State of Veracruz, I was ever in the shadow of the Pico. The first thing I would do every clear morning was climb a ladder to the roof of my house and stare in awe at Orizaba, a classic snow and glacier clad former volcano. It's beautiful. But I have always wondered what the view would be from the top. Is anyone else curious? Want to hire a guide and climb it? It's the 3rd highest peak in North America. The climbing season for the Pico de Orizaba is late December through February, so this is an adventure which may have to wait another year. As we used to say in Mexico, "vamos a ver," "we will see."

So, my race card is still incomplete, but it will fill ever the weeks and months ahead. This is what keeps me an honest runner.