Because I'm playing optimistic about my recovery and what running I'm going to get to do this year, I've been looking at races to put on the calendar for the fall. I'm not going to do a full marathon (I am holding firm on that decision), but I see no reason not to run a half or two, or a ten-miler or two, or a 15K, or a 10K, or some 5Ks thrown in there too.
5Ks are a dime a dozen around here so I don't think I will plan this far in advance for any particular one, and see about adding those on the fly during the rest of the year.
10Ks are hard to come by on the local race calendar. I spotted one, in Wilmington on October 15 (Run for the Buds). There is one in Iowa City on October 16 (Run for the Schools). I have no idea what my vacation/travels to Iowa will be like later this year, but either way, it looks like I could plan on a 10K that weekend, whether in Delaware or in Iowa. If it works out and I am in Iowa City that weekend, I'd have to decide whether I want to do the 10K or the half. I might lean toward the 10K to see if I run a PR on the course where I set my PR in 2004; but I might like to improve on my Run for the Schools half-marathon time, too (1:40 on a very, very hot day in October 2007). It's much more likely I will not be in Iowa that weekend, though, so the Run for the Buds looks promising for a fall 10K.
10-milers abound this fall around here. The Bottle and Cork 10-miler in Dewey Beach, DE on September 10 could start off my fall distance racing season. The Cow Run in Salem, NJ is run through the rural NJ countryside on October 2; also on that date, there is the Caffe Gelato 10-miler in Newark, DE. The latter is not fully a road race, but rather tracks through part of White Clay Creek State Park (so, trail-ish). That's only a few miles down the way for me, but maybe I won't feel like running a race that might be necessarily a little slower than it could be due to the race surface. But maybe I won't feel like driving to rural NJ instead. Either way, there is a 10-miler to be run that weekend, if I want to fit one in a week ahead of another race I've got in my sights, a 15K in Delaware.
In 2012 I ran the Delaware Distance Classic 15K (when it was still in Wilmington) and I liked it, but ever since, it has fallen on a weekend not convenient to my fall marathons so I have not run the last three iterations. It has moved to Delaware City, but that's not very far away at all and while I have question marks next to all the "maybes" above, this one on October 9 is one I'm going to plan on running for sure.
There are a number of half-marathons in the vicinity this fall, including the Rock n Roll in Philly in September and the half associated with the Philadelphia Marathon in November, but I don't think I want to submit to 1) the largeness of the fields, particularly with the RnR race -- it's just too stupidly big at this point, and 2) having to decide pretty much now for sure that I'm going to register for them in order to not get shut out. Given my uncertainty about what is looking like an injury, I'm in no position to say that I am going to be FOR SURE running these half-marathons so I'm not going to pony up the $100 or whatever it will cost (ok, I just looked, the Philly half in November is $120, and "prices after June 30 are subject to increase." Cripes. That makes the RnR race sound cheap at $99 (right now).) Delaware has a handful on tap starting in October: a half associated with the Monster Mash marathon in Dover on 10/22, one along the C&D Canal near Delaware City on November 5th, and a half associated with the Rehoboth Beach Seashore marathon on December 3rd. I have put all three of these on my race card, the first and third with question marks; I don't know if I want to go all the way to Dover ("all the way", haha!) to run a half-marathon a week after I plan to have raced a 15K, and I don't know how I will feel about racing in potentially icky December weather in a seaside town. I have decided on planning to aim for the C&D Canal race. It's as flat as a course can get, and judging by last year's results, if I have even just a decent day, I should do some placing (last year's first woman ran 1:31, but second place was 1:42). Of course, speedier ladies could discover it this year, too, and make it more competitive, which would be a positive. November 5th is plenty long enough after the 15K and it can serve as my last race before turning 40.
My location is convenient not just to southeastern Pennsylvania and all of Delaware, but northeastern Maryland as well, so I will look at race calendars for MD and give anything promising a think, too. I like to travel to new places to race, but I think I might stick around a bit closer to home this fall and save my pennies for Boston weekend in 2017.
This all assumes I will recover in reasonable time from these lingering issues and can get back up to decent mileage and efforts, of course. But, as I said, I'm playing optimistic right now, if not so optimistic as to get out the credit card and put some of these decisions in stone!
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