The Fall 2010 Schedule

In my 2010 year ahead blog, I left the second half of the year open.  After the Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half-Marathon, my fall schedule came together.  My primary goal is to finish the Pacific Association/USA Track & Field (PA/USATF) Road Race Grand Prix Series.  I have completed the first two races, the NorCal 10 Miler and the Across the Bay 12K.  That leaves three more for the long division of this series.

July/August/September

July continued the DSE Summer Race Series and had the Napa to Sonoma Half.  August closed out the Summer Race Series and included a couple of cross country races with the Pamakid Racing Team.  I skipped the last of the Summer Series to do the cross country races.  The first cross country race was the 10th Annual UC Santa Cruz Cross Country Challenge (4 miles).  The second was the 18th Annual Phil Widener Empire Open (3.43 miles) in Santa Rosa (picture at left).  If I feel up to it, I may consider two additional cross country races in September, the 25th Annual Golden Gate Park Open (4 miles) and the 6th Annual Garin Park Cross Country Challenge (5 Km).  I will skip running September's DSE Half-Marathon this year to avoid over racing.  I have already signed up to volunteer.

October

In October, I will travel to the old growth redwoods at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park for the Humboldt Redwoods Half-Marathon.  This is an out-and-back race on the Avenue of the Giants (road).  The race is organized by the Six Rivers Running Club.  It is about a five hour drive North of THE CITY.   Others who have run this race and the companion marathon have raved about the beauty of the setting.

The Bridge to Bridge 12K run is October 3.  It is on the Pamakids race calendar.  Depending on how I feel, I may run it.  It is a little over half the distance of a half-marathon, which makes it a better choice than September's DSE Half-Marathon.  I have run the race every year since I have been in THE CITY and would like to keep the streak going.  I will wait to the Pamakids Racing Team deadline to decide.

November

In November, four weeks after Humboldt, I will travel to Clarksburg, south of Sacramento, for the Clarksburg Country Run Half Marathon.  This will be my first race in a new age group and will give me an outside shot at an age group prize.  

December

Three weeks after that will be the real challenge of the series.  I will finish with the California International Marathon.  The race starts in Folsom and ends in the shadow of the State Capitol Building in Sacramento.  This was the part of the series that I did not know if I would do.  I felt good after Napa to Sonoma and decided that I could build the stamina I need for a marathon.  My only prior marathons were the first two San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathons in 1998 and 1999.  After that, I swore off of marathons in favor of the half-marathon -- half the distance and substantially less than half the damage to my body.  With over 10 years of additional running experience will I be better able to withstand the demands of the event?  Only the post-race blog will tell.