My word of the year is challenge, and that’s something I’ve been focusing on as I set my race schedule for the year. I’ve had the races for the first half of the year pretty well locked down – a few olympics as tune-up and rehearsal for my big goal, IM 70.3 Ohio. But that only takes me through July. July is when my race season started last year, thanks to injury and surgery.
I started looking at what will come after July, with the idea of a challenge in the back of my mind.
I decided I wanted to finally tackle the series challenge with a local race group, which means doing at least five of their races. I’ve already got three on my schedule, so adding two more doesn’t sound too bad.
One thing I’ve never done is a back to back triathlon, racing both Saturday and Sunday. I’ve done it with half marathons, but not in a few years. So an added challenge for the year is going to be a Saturday olympic and Sunday sprint. The hardest part is going to be getting out of bed both days, I suspect!
So as of right now, here’s what I’m looking at:
- 4/20 – Rumpus in Bumpass Olympic
- 5/11 – Kinetic Olympic
- 5/25 – Swimfest 4500
- 6/15 – General Smallwood Olympic
- 7/28 – 70.3 Ohio
- 8/24 – Farm to Fork Fondo (tentative)
- 9/7-8 – Patriot’s Olympic and Sprint (tentative)
- 10/13 – Army Ten Miler (tentative)
- 12/1 – Space Coast Half Marathon
The “tentative” just means that I haven’t plunked down the cash yet for the race. I’m also thinking I’ll add some more running races in the fall, maybe the Baltimore half, which I haven’t run in years. I should also pick up some 10ks here and there as time permits.
Given how little I raced last year, this feels like a lot, but I’m excited to tackle the challenge. I love the camaraderie of racing, and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.
Back to back tris sound like a fun challenge!! It is the perfect way to live your focus word! <3