Sunday, February 19, 2012

Runnin' Races and Goin' Places

Sometimes, it can be difficult to do something if you don't have a goal you're working towards. Many runners including myself need races to work towards, to motivate them to keep going. Want to make sure you train through the winter holidays? Schedule a January or February race. Want to make sure you get out there even if the summers are hot? Schedule a fall race. I've talked about the other reason why you should sign up for races, which is because they're so fun!

Right now, I'm stuck. Indeed, I do want to sign up for another race, but I'm not sure what.
I did have a race I was going to do with a team, but the team kind of fell apart. Thinking I would sign up solo, I found that the race was already filled up.
Too bad. I wanted a bottle opener medal. Darn.

So now I'm stuck without a race. I'm also $30 richer from not paying a racing fee, but still it's no fun.

The next race I'm looking for would be something either or the obstacle course variety, themed variety, or both. Preferably mid to long distance. ...No more marathons for awhile though. I have to do another before I turn 30, but I've got awhile. Remember my personal goal of doing a marathon for each decade of my life? Yeah, that's a thing.

One of the biggest things that sticks out to me for races is registration price. If it's a 5k, I don't want to be spending as much on that as a half marathon. I don't think it's worth it. I suppose I could have looked for a cheaper marathon, but the Portland marathon is THE marathon of Oregon in my humble opinion. Plus, it was the 40th year. I think it would be awesome to run the 50th anniversary marathon... We've got awhile.
For instance, I was looking at this race that looked pretty cool. It's called "Run for your Lives", and it's a zombie obstacle course 5k. How awesome does that sound? Then I saw that registration was $77 bucks and thought "No way." It may be themed, but I'm not paying that much for a 5K.

The other race thing I've been thinking about lately is running while abroad. I really want to sign up for a race while I'm abroad, because I think it would be cool to run a race in another country. Spreading my running around the world. I've run while in Canada, and ran in Mexico, why not in another continent?
I won't register for one yet, because I need to learn more about how my schedule is going to work while studying abroad. But it's still a thought.

For now, I'll just keep running. We'll see where it takes me next.

What's your favorite type of race to run?

2 comments:

  1. You should absolutely run a race or two while you're abroad - plus it would be a great way to connect with other runners in your program! Personally, I prefer longer distance races. Only because I don't feel like I'm really "warm" until I've gotten to about 30-40 minutes in a run.

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  2. Yeah.. I'm still amazed that I'm willing to spend money to run. What is this craziness? My half marathon was $90.

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