2011 Racing Schedule

It's already January 20th, and I'm not big on goals, but I do love to schedule races, throw a bunch of things down on paper, then run that by the auditing, accounting and travel office (my wife), and whittle it down to include some road, some trail, some long, some short, some races, and some epic adventures that I want to do before I die. Then there is always that little rush I get when I press the "submit" button on Active.com. After that, the hard and fun part begins, the training, the nerves, the self-doubt, the rationalizing of bad performances, the A, B, and C races, which ones should I try to put the ego aside and run as workouts, pushing down the urge not to throttle past the tool with the bright orange Kinvaras. The process took me about three weeks, and the schedule will change. Someone will email me saying you should do this, and without giving it a second thought, I hit reply and say I'm in. It already happened once today.

So, here's what I have planned for 2011. Should be a fun year...

2/13 San Dieguito 1/2 Marathon

I love this course, this race, and the Stone beer garden at the end. It's hilly, and I went 1:30 here last year, but that's because last year it was held on Valentine's Day and I was in a rush to get home. Not the same motivation this year.

3/12 Avalon 10k

This is run in conjunction with the Catalina Marathon, which I ran last year, which I puked at last year, and which I will not be running this year. My lucky wife will, and I will be there at the end of her race, showered, well-rested, and well-fed.

4/2 Warrior Dash

I'm doing this with my wife and my brother. You get to jump over fire, swim through mud, and you get a sweet hat at the end. Should be fun.

4/17 Painted Rocks 1/2 Marathon

This is part of a trail series put on by the San Diego Dirt Devils.

6/12 Coyote 5k

Mix it up with a trail 5k.

6/11 8,000 Meter Challenge

My friend and fellow Death Racer, Jess, asked me if I wanted to do this with him. It includes three summits in one day, Mt Baldy, Mt. San Grogonio, and Mt. San Jacinto.

6/18 Camp Pendleton Mud Run

We're getting the team (and we can only hope, hats) back together to defend last year's 1st place.

End of June -- Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast

I'd like to run as much of this 22 mile out and back as I can.

7/9 Harding Hustle 50k

7/30 (and probably into 7/31) Canadian Death Race

This is one I've wanted to do since I saw some pictures of the course a few years ago. 78 miles with 17,000 feet of elevation gain. This is definitely an "A" race for me.

9/24 Noble Canyon 50k

This was my second ultra ever, and I love the course.

10/9 Raptor Ridge 1/2 Marathon

Another Dirt Devil trail race.

Sometime in November -- Zion traverse

I want to do this really bad, but this may not be the year. We'll see.

12/4 California International Marathon

This is probably the one that I am most scared of, and that is why I am doing it. I don't like road marathons, I don't like pushing hard enough to qualify for Boston, but it is something I want to do. This is my second "A" race of the year.

My coach, Lucho, has his work cut out for him this year.