Phew, so last post of the evening. This was exhausting!

Over the past month I fleshed out my training and racing calendar and wanted to share it here.

I decided to put triathlons on the back-burner this season and instead focus on ultrarunning. Something about plain old running just seems so… refreshing. With tris, it was all about the gear gear gear and more GEAR. Expensive. Lighter. Spiffier. Lugging it all over, packing it in separate bags and comparing your gear to the next guys gear. Goos, gels, powders, drinks, bars- getting everywhere, exploding in your bag. And, if I got one more flat tire and had to go through yet another c02 cartridge and tube, I was going to perform seppuku onto my bike pump. It never ends; triathlon started to seem like one big George Carlin “stuff” routine.

So yeah. Plain ole running. That’s it. Easy, peasy, running. Just comes down to the shoes on your feet, really. And if you are so inclined you can go even more zen than that and run barefoot if you please (I don’t think I’m quite at his pitch yet).

Oh and in case I get bored of just running, I’ve got some other fun stuff up my sleeve: capoeira and aerial acrobatics classes at Circus School (strange fact about where we live: there is not one but TWO circus schools down the street from our apartment). And, if I need another fix, I might go show up for the Funkanometry class here. But, I must stress that these are all for sheer fun and whimsy, and thank goodness none of them require copious amounts of *stuff!*

So here’s my rough 2009 TRAINING CALENDAR:

  • Monday: Easy medium-long run
  • Tuesday: Easy short run, capoeira
  • Wednesday: hills
  • Thursday: easy short run, capoeira
  • Friday: long run #1, possibly surf
  • Saturday: long run #2
  • Sunday: rest, snooze, brunch/dim sum, read paper, hang out with bf (maybe go to dance class if i am bored)

and my 2009 RACE SCHEDULE

Feb: 6-10th Straightline Ski Camp at Alta & Snowbird (okay not so much training related, but butt-kicking nevertheless!)

March: 21- Pirates Cove 30k

April: 26th- Big Sur Marathon, and, you know who else is running it? My friend Steve, from NY. I am psyched to see him! Also am going to volunteer at the Mount Diablo 50 on the 19th. Will most likely be dragging poor Earl to this as well :P

May: 9th- Quicksilver 50k, which means that Big Sur Marathon is really more of a training run for me. Also in this month is Earl’s 30th birthday/my twin sister’s 40th birthday extravaganza! Their decade-big birthdays are a mere 4 days apart, so major festivities are in order. I am currently brainstorming something super extra special to do for Earl, although we may all celebrate with ski trip to Park City (currently up in the air, dependent on bro-in-law’s job status).

June: nothing on the books yet

July: 12th- Alcatraz Aquathlon- 1.5mi swim and 7 mi run. As close as I will get to a tri this year. Have the honor of doing this race with the ineffable, indefatigable, illustrious (haha, take that JA!) Mr. Felix Wong. I am currently lobbying him to sign up for Quicksilver with me as well, but so far he is on the fence.

August: 8th- Headlands 50 miler - ooh boy, the biggie. This is probably my “A” race although since this is NOT a triathlon season, I guess you could say there is no A race and I’m just gonna try and have fun and enjoy them all.

I might be throwing in more or less and tweaking this schedule here and there as well. The super exciting thing is Rick hooked me up with Brian and Melissa who helped me plan out plan my season. So far, that seems to be a very funky aspect of ultrarunning: Everyone knows EVERYONE.  It was so funny, because two of my friends from skiing, George and David, each hooked me up with one of their ultra running friends, who in turn knew each other, and also both knew Brian and Melissa.  It really is a small community!