2017 Race Plans

Every year I start planning my race calendar months before the calendar actually turns, but in my preparation this year, I wanted to make sure I really put thought into the races I sign up for. Last year was hectic for my personal life, but despite that I still got to run in 14 races. I got to run in a lot of new-to-me races, but I also missed out on a few old favorites, so I want to make sure that the races I sign up for this year are the ones I really want to run. Race registrations aren't cheap and I'm trying to make an effort to spend more thoughtfully this year, so I've actually already eliminated a few races from my preliminary list because I realized they'd be fun to do but I had other races that are a higher priority. There are a couple that I'm still on the fence about, but the ones I have decided to do are ones that I feel really good about, and I'm excited about what's in store for me this year.

registered / will almost definitely run / want to run

April

• Cherry Blossom 10-Miler (4/2)

A new, but also not, but also definitely new to me race! I entered into and was selected in the lottery for the 2016 race, but I injured my foot during the Shamrock Half Marathon two weeks prior. At first I was hopeful I'd make a miraculous recovery in time for Cherry Blossom, but by race day I was still unable to run a single step without pain, so instead I became head cheerleader for Alyssa, Lisa, and Lisa's boyfriend, Brian (who beat Meb, nbd). We were somehow, amazingly, selected for the lottery again this year and being a DC resident this year, I'm so excited! I actually run the same roads that the course is on for the majority of my runs, but it's a big race and I love running with friends so it will be a totally different experience. And it will be great to not have to travel!

• New Jersey Marathon (4/30)

Once upon a time, I had just finished an Ironman(ish) and was getting antsy about my next big goal and decided to run a spring marathon. I realized after IMNC that I had run a race in 3 states (VA, NC, and SC) and that I'd be adding a 4th in 2017 with IM Louisville, so I shopped around for races in other states but within a reasonable traveling distance. New Jersey sounded like the perfect option! This was before I decided to run Shamrock, and I really couldn't decide between the two of them, so I'm planning on running both. If I hit my goal at Shamrock then New Jersey will just be another race with a great friend (isn't running 26.2 miles your idea of having fun with your friends?), but if I don't, I'll take 6 weeks to regroup, refocus, and try again in New Jersey.

May

• Kinetic Half Ironman (5/13)

My last 3 triathlons were all put on by major race organizations (Ironman and Competitor Group), and all 3 of them were altered in some way (the swim at Nation's Tri was canceled two days before race day due to high bacteria in the Potomac, the swim at 70.3 Atlantic City was shortened mid-race due to strong current, and then we all know about the halved bike course at Ironman North Carolina), and not that those issues were fault of those organizations, but I'm actually looking forward to getting back to my roots and supporting an independent race. I was already thinking about doing an early summer half Ironman to get a jumpstart on training for Louisville, and my friend told me he was signing up for this one so I decided I would too. It's only about an hour and a half from me so it's easily the more convenient than the others I was looking at anyway! I've done an Olympic later in the season at the same race location but not this exact race. I liked the Olympic course, although it was hillier than I'm used to, but that will be good prep for Louisville!

• Capitol Hill Classic 10k (5/21)

This is a new-to-me race that I just found out about recently, but considering it's close by and fairly inexpensive, I think there's a good chance I'll go for it! The distance should be perfect for the week after a half Ironman.

• Elizabeth River Run 10k (5/27)

This run takes place in downtown Portsmouth, where I lived up until 2.5 years ago and where Ben and I still own a condo. It's where I learned to run and where I trained for my first everything up to my first marathon, and everything about it is just...home. There is a local 10k that basically runs my old running route every Memorial Day, and I've gotten into a pattern of running it every other year (one year I was injured, one year I moved), so this year should be an "on" year. I was pretty much sold on running it, but now I've made some big plans for the next day, and I'm just not sure if it's going to make logistical sense to do both.

• Mountains of Misery Century (5/28)

I was somewhat peer-pressed into this one, but I think it will be good for me. Provided I don't die. It's 100 miles of riding in the mountains, with a brutal climb up the mountain for the last 4 miles (hence the name). It starts just north of Blacksburg in southwest VA, and if nothing else at least it will be beautiful! I know it's not going to be a fast one and that it's going to be an accomplishment just to finish it, and I can live with that. 

June

• Breezy Point Sprint Tri (6/4)

This was my first open water triathlon in 2013, and I also raced it in 2015 (and just barely edged out a girl for 3rd in our age group!). This will be right around the time that I really shift into Ironman training mode so a sprint may not be the best use of my time, but it's early enough in my training that I don't think it will hurt to go out and do a shorter race that I enjoy. It's another great, local race that I love supporting. I'm hoping to get my brother-in-law to join in on the fun for his first tri!

• St. Mary's Olympic Triathlon (6/17)

This was my first open water triathlon in 2013, and I also raced it in 2015 (and just barely edged out a girl for 3rd in our age group!). This will be right around the time that I really shift into Ironman training mode so a sprint may not be the best use of my time, but it's early enough in my training that I don't think it will hurt to go out and do a shorter race that I enjoy. It's another great, local race that I love supporting. I'm hoping to get my brother-in-law to join in on the fun for his first tri!

July

• 15th - Tidewater Sprint Tri

This is probably my favorite triathlon that I've done! I don't know what I love so much about it. It's hot, but the beach where it's held is nice and it's a fast race (I think my best time is 1 hour 9 minutes and some change) and there is just something about it that I love. This is another one I seem to have gotten into the habit of, for various reasons, only getting to do every other year, so that makes this year an "on" year. I will have just gone to Belize for the week before race week, so it might not be the best thing for my Ironman training to miss out during vacation and then to do a short race, but I want to make my schedule work out because I just enjoy this race so much.

August
If you know what mid-Atlantic Augusts are like then it should be no surprise to you that I have no races planned for this month! I'll be in prime Ironman training mode, so I'll already be miserable enough - I don't need to spend money on that. Fun fact: out of over 75 races that I've completed, August is the only month that I've never done a race.


September

• 3rd - Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon

This is a race that I have avoided like the plague. Every year it's miserably hot and humid and sounds like a horrible time, but the last couple of years I've developed a morbid curiosity about doing it. I've come close to signing up in recent years but have never done it, but this year I decided to bite the bullet and do it, the same day I signed up for RnR DC for super cheap - I paid for these 2 races what I expected to pay for DC alone. I did have to wake up at 3am to register to ensure that I got the best price, so that may have affected my decision-making. I just remembered how desperate I was around this time during Ironman training last year to run around other people, and especially to run at home, so it seemed like a nice thing to have to look forward to for this training cycle. And I'm sure the conditions will be terrible but I'll be running that weekend regardless, and misery loves company, right?

• 16th - Outer Banks Half Ironman

The Outer Banks Triathlon has sprint, Olympic, and half distances, and was my first Olympic in 2013. It's another well-run independent race, which also means it's about half the cost of an Ironman 70.3. It falls about 4 weeks before Ironman Louisville, which is about a week later than ideal (last year I did IMAC 70.3 at 5 weeks out from IMNC and I thought that was perfect), but I'll make it work. I really want to get in a half Iron sometime in the 4-6 weeks out timeframe.

October

• 8th - Army Ten Miler

• 15th - Ironman Louisville

Ah, it feels so far away, but if last year taught me anything, it will be here before I know it! This is, obviously, my big goal for the year. If I do nothing else, I just want to make it to an Ironman finish line.

• 28th - Wicked 10k

For 5 years (2012-2015), the Wicked 10k was my longest race streak. It was my first ever 10k and I ran it every year until this year - it was the weekend after IMNC and it wasn't the running that turned me off from it, it was having to travel. It felt amazing to be home that weekend after having been gone for like 6 or 7 out of the 8 weekends prior, but it was bittersweet missing this race and ending my streak. It's basically a giant Halloween party with 10,000 of my closest running friends and beers on the beach afterward. It’s one of my favorite races ever and after the hard work at Louisville is over, I want to do a race that’s just fun.

November

• 18th and 19th - Get Nauti Challenge: Norfolk Harbor 5k and Half Marathon

I ran the Norfolk Harbor (or as it was called then, Harbor Lights) Half Marathon in 2015 and it was a cold, rainy day but for some reason I loved it. Norfolk is a fun city to run through and it's not something I get the opportunity to do very often. I didn't get to do it last year (and the medals had mermaids on them so I will eternally regret that), so I have decided that not only do I want to do it this year, but I also want to do the 5k the day before and complete the Get Nauti challenge. By that point my 5k PR will be 2.5 years old and my half marathon PR will be over 1.5 years old - could it be time to update one or both of them? I'm not sure how post-Ironman me is going to feel like running, but it will be a good time no matter how long it takes me to finish.

• 23rd - Turkey Trot (TBD)

I don't know what my Thanksgiving plans are this year, but as they have every year since I became a runner in 2011, they will include a Turkey Trot. If I'm home I'll do the Tidewater Striders 10k Turkey Trot, if I'm somewhere else I'll find a local one to do, and if I can't find one, like the year I went to Sparta, NC (Population: 1,770), I'll run one on my own!

December <

• 9th - Santa Shuffle 5k

This is another race that's held in my old neighborhood in downtown Portsmouth, and one of my favorites because I love that neighborhood so much. I haven't gotten to run this the past couple of years and of all the races I've missed out on, I've probably had the most FOMO over this one. So this year, I want to make it a priority to get back home to run this race that stupidly means so much to me. And depending on how I do at the Norfolk Harbor 5k, I'm thinking that shooting for a PR here might be the perfect goal to round out 2017.

• 16th - Surf n Santa 5 Miler

Another favorite race of mine (have I said that about every race so far?)! This is put on by J&A, the same local running organization that puts on Shamrock, Wicked, and Norfolk Harbor, and this race is actually the 3rd in their fall/winter Triple Jog Dare challenge. The course is basically the Wicked 10k but a mile shorter, but it's held right at sunset and there are light displays on the beach for Christmas (that you usually have to be in a car to drive through and see), so it's a really unique race. It used to be a 10-miler held in the morning and I did that a couple times, but I've only done it one time since it changed to the evening 5-miler. I really enjoyed and and really hated to miss out last year - they actually gave everyone a Santa costume and broke the Guiness World Record for number of Santas in a running race! - so I would love to get back to it this year for my last race of (what I hope will be) a pretty big and amazing 2017.