Upcoming Races: Planning the Rest of 2018

After completing the half marathon at the BMO Vancouver (read my race report HERE), I've started to think about what comes next. I am still coming down from the high after completing something as big as a half marathon, especially at an event as spectacular as the BMO Vancouver.

Ultimately, I want to complete at least one more half marathon in 2018 - that will be three in total for the year. I have my eye set on the Fall Classic on November 4th.

In the interim, I need to decide what to do. I love the race atmosphere and want to keep it up. Having a hard commitment like a race also gives me something to work towards. I have always done better with deadlines, and so when it comes to training or maintaining any type of cadence in my running, having a race in the months ahead logged firmly into my calendar keeps me accountable.

My general plan for the summer is to absolutely destroy my legs, every day. I say this a bit tongue in cheek but also a little bit serious. If I'm not running another half until November, then I don't need to hammer out a rigid training plan until mid-August or even September. If I plan a few 5 km and 10 km races between now and then, I should be able to knock them out as part of my regular training. So my high-level plan for the next 3.5 months is to simply run or ride every single day. No excuses.

I will definitely be completing as many Saturday morning parkruns as my schedule allows (click HERE for my review of the Richmond Olympic parkrun).

And if you have followed this blog, you'll know that my 7-year-old son likes to run with me on occasion. After greeting me at the finish line of my two half marathons this year, he wants to sign up and do a couple races with me. He runs the parkrun with me as often as he can. But he wants the big race experience - a finish line with a big crowd and a medal.

So I started researching 5 km races during the summer that would be ideal for the two of us to do together. He can run a 5 km comfortably and between track and field at school and his soccer team through the spring, his legs are in good shape.

So we are going to race the following races together:

• 5km at the Scotiabank Vancouver on June 24th
• 5km at the Big Superhero Run along the West Dyke in Richmond on August 18th

Both should be a ton of fun. The former being a really big event and the latter being a smaller community event. But both include finisher medals and a crowd cheering us on.

Then, I am going to run the Eastside 10k myself on September 15th. I think this just looks like another awesome event, and I am excited to give it a go. From there, I will settle into a more dedicated build up to the Fall Classic half marathon on November 4th.