Well, I got my long distance/fun fix with the Portland marathon, but now I’m really itching for a faster, shorter and more serious race that I can do with less preparation and expense. Thanks to my friend Brandon who did Portland with me, I think I found a good one.
I signed up for the Trail of 2 Cities half marathon in Clovis California on Nov 11th. Clovis which is located in northern Fresno county, is about a 3 hour drive south from where I live, so I’ll spend the night before the race down there.
I’ve never done this race before, but I’ve heard many good things about it .
From reading the reviews, it seems to be well organized and you get lots of bang for your buck. We’re talking pre & post race hot food, not one, but TWO shirts, finish medal, goodie bag, etc . All this for $40.00 …Can’t beat that! The event is getting so popular in fact, that next year they’re going to introduce a full marathon.
More reminiscent of trail race, than a big city marathon , they cap the event at 1500 and they have separate walking and running divisions. No running or jogging is allowed in the walking race! I like that idea because it assures that walkers are scored and timed as true walkers. I’ve never seen that rule enforced at any other event, hopefully they will at this one.
My plan ( if I’m breathing well on race day), is to inject one part of legal racewalking for every 3 parts regular walking (or about 3 miles total of racewalking.)
That’s about the most racewalking I can do over a distance of 13 miles. Realistically I’m probably looking at about a 3:30 finish, but considering that this will be pure walking ( no jogging at all), I can live with that.
My fastest half marathon to date, was 2:50, but that was a stellar breathing day and I was able to racewalk/regular walk a 1:2 ratio. Not likely to happen again.
As far as preparation , I’m gonna to a single 10 mile LSD and some interval training, which for me means, 2 to 4, 100 meter racewalking sprints per mile of regular walking x 4 miles per day.
My only concern about this race venue, is the course itself. It’s surrounded by lots of green grass, which I’m severely allergic to. I’m hoping however, that because this race is in the fall season, that this wont be a huge problem.
This will be my last race for the year. The next one after this , will hopefully be the Rome marathon in Rome Italy, on March 16th 2008.
That sounds like a good run for me next year! I hope you enjoy a shorter run and that all goes well!
Thanks for the props in your “Headlines” section! 🙂
I did enjoy my trip to SLO – love that little town. And, I loved the weather! Wish I could’ve stayed longer.
So that’s why you’re still out there training. Yes they had the San Francisco 12 and 24 hour run, there was also a Diabetes 2-mile walk, a bike ride complete with Police escort and who knows what else. This city is so alive with events.
It’s nice huh, to be able to think that half-marathons are “faster, shorter,” races.
There was a race walker at the 12-hour event. He was moving pretty good. First name Eric, didn’t catch the last name.
Yes you should do the 12-hour event. You can even stop at 8 hours if you need to. It’s a much, much smaller event than the marathons that you are used to but it’s a great spectator event for your friends. You can have folks come down and walk parts of the race with you.