2011 Race Calendar!

Well I guess it's finally time to officially announce my race calendar for the year :)

Let's start with the biggest and the most important: 

Yep, that's right. I *finally* got in. Longtime blog readers know that I have consistently tried to get into this race ever since I ran my first marathon in 2007. For three years in a row, I was rejected in their lottery.

Well, luckily for me - NYC Marathon rules dictate that in these situations, you are automatically accepted in the fourth year of entering the lottery. YAY FOR ME!!! See, persistence does pay off :)

I am so excited about running this race since I absolutely love New York City. I often would take trips there with my mom and my sister mostly so we could see Broadway shows and of course, sight see, shop, eat, etc.  And then for about two years, I lived in Hoboken, NJ which is just across the river from lower Manhattan so I got to spend a lot of time in NYC then. I think the highlights of those days were getting to be in the audience for some events at the MTV studios :) (hint: think heyday of Britney Spears, haha)

This is going to be a once in a lifetime experience since I'll probably never get the chance to run this marathon again and to be perfectly honest, I'm not quite sure I'll want to run another marathon again after this. (Half marathons are more my thing, if anything.)

So I don't want to blow it. As some of you know, my running has sort of tapered off after the Goofy Challenge and I pretty much need to start rebuilding my running base. I'm probably doing my own version of the "couch to 5K" program right now.

I have until November to get into marathon shape. To make sure I stay on track, I've scheduled some other race events throughout the year...

... such as the See Jane Run half marathon. I've been wanting to run this race for awhile but could never fit it into my race calendar. The tagline is "I run for chocolate and champagne." Do I really need to say anything else?

With a race date of early June, it's a perfect milestone for marathon training.

This next one is more of a fun one. Bay to Breakers has always had a special spot in my heart because it was one of the first events I did when I first moved to California in 2001 (from Hoboken actually). I just remember thinking how fun and crazy this place was! For six years in a row, my friends and I paraded down the streets of SF in our group costumes - fun trip down memory lane here. In 2008, I decided to actually run it since you know, it is an actual race after all with real elite runners and all that. (My friends were shocked that people actually ran it, believe it or not. They just assumed it was a party for everyone!)

I figured once was enough for me (that Hayes Street Hill is no joke, man) but this year, Bay to Breakers is celebrating its 100th year anniversary!!! 100 YEARS!!! How crazy is that? So to commemorate the special occasion, all runners get a special finisher's medal! People that know me know that I'm a total medal whore, especially a unique medal that will only happen this year! Of course, I was in. And it's a 12K in mid-May so it should also help me stay on track for the See Jane Run half the following month.

This last one is a kind of random one but I'm excited for it. I'm kind of a weird runner because I believe the best way to have confidence and to be fully prepared for an important marathon is to... well, basically run another marathon before it.

It worked really well for me when I ran the Goofy Challenge. For those that aren't familiar, the Goofy Challenge is the Disney event where you run a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon the next day. Well, I was worried I wouldn't be properly prepared for such a feat, so I decided to run another marathon (California International Marathon) about 5-6 weeks before it. Used it as a long run of sorts (I did another one in between the events). Well, it worked out great because I ended up setting a PR at CIM!

Timing-wise, the Akron marathon fits in well as it's 6 weeks before NYC. Akron is also an hour away from my hometown where my parents and my sister and her family live. (Did I mention my sister has a 3 year old and 2 month old that I miss terribly?) And what cinched the deal is that my dear friend Roadbunner could not stop raving about the race and its awesome swag.

So to summarize, here is my 2011 Race Calendar:

• May 15th: Bay to Breakers 12K
• June 5th: See Jane Run Half Marathon
• September 24th: Akron Marathon
• November 6th: NYC Marathon