Hey Trippers!

Races to the front of me, races behind.

On Sunday I ran the Shoreline Half Marathon, which basically serves as my halfway point in this “marathon” of a running year.

I set a few running goals for 2014 and so far, have managed to hit several of ’em:

• I’ve PR’d in the marathon (4:58:16), half marathon (2:03:14) and 10K (56:56).
• I ran 3 full marathons in less than 90 days to qualify for the Marathon Maniacs (#9416).
• I’ve run a half or full marathon every month this year so far (with plans to continue this into 2015).

Now let’s talk numbers…

In past years, I’ve typically run 6-7 races (marathons, halfs, 10Ks)  over the course of the entire year. In 2013 I ramped it up to 9 races.

For 2014 I’ve definitely let my “crazy train” out of the station.

The Shoreline Half was my 8th race of the year (3 full marathons, 4 halfs, 1 10K)… and we’re only in July.

BTW, my legs stopped talking to me in April and I think my feet are planning to stage a coup.

So, if I keep up with that pace, I should have another 7 or 8 races on the schedule for Aug.-Dec., right?

Nope.

Try 14 more.

You can check out the full listing of my 2014 races here… subject to change, should my work schedule shift or temporary sanity intervene.

Let me see if I can fit you in.

Yeah, apparently I decided  to really lay it on thick in the latter half of the year… I’m talking laying it on with a firehose thick.

As the Coneheads would say: “Mass quantities… I shall enjoy them.”

At this point I’m not sure if I spend more time running or more time signing up for races.

If running races is a illness, I’m quickly turning into “Typhoid Scotty.” Call the CDC, this boy’s got the runs real bad (pun intended)!

Looking ahead, I see two very interesting stretches coming up later this year.

Let me out and I promise not to sign up for any more races… trust me.

Starting Aug. 16th, I’m running 4 half marathons in 5 weeks (including 3 weekends in a row):

• Aug. 16- Madison Mini Marathon
• Aug. 31- Disneyland Half Marathon
• Sep. 7- Ventura Half Marathon
• Sep. 13- Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

So that’s two out of state trips in a month and toss in an overnight for Disney. Guess I’ll be wracking up some Hilton points.

Should be a busy few weeks, but that’s gonna be childsplay compared to mid-November.

Instead of 4 half marathons in 5 weeks, I’ve got 4 half marathons in 8 days… oh, and 3 of those half marathons will be in 30 hours.

• Nov. 8- Santa Barbara Half Marathon
• Nov. 15- Canyon City Half Marathaon
• Nov. 16 (am)- Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon
• Nov. 16 (pm)- Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon

Yup, bring on the full-on crazy. Apparently I don’t have the common sense to say “no.”

At least I know I’m pretty much guaranteed a good night’s sleep on November 16th.

Should be a fun second half of 2014, as long as my legs don’t explode.

Mark your calendars everyone… and Run on!