Summer Planzzzzzz....

 Hello friends!

I'm back from an amazing Iberian vacation (photos coming soon) and ready to run-ble (see what I did there? Sorry not sorry). Also please enjoy this photo I got from Stow Lake Stampede:

I have some I don't want to say *big* plans in the works, but let's just say, big-ger plans than I've been willing to entertain in a while. Why?

Well, ICYMI, I had two really excellent races this spring (as well as one pretty decent one and one I'd kind of rather forget about), like really excellent for me, like my ten-years-younger self would have been thrilled to have had these kinds of races. For so long I kind of had this idea that I could basically get faster until about 38 and it was probably all downhill from there, and it's becoming exceedingly clear that that's complete horseshit; witness not only my own recent right-up-with-there-with-the-PRs performances but also women in their late 30s (with kids! Multiple kids! And sometimes whole entire full time jobs that are not running!) setting American distance records. I'm not under any kind of illusion that it will last forever but I'm certainly not going to count myself out of the lifetime PR hunt any time soon.

So, yeah. I'm Thinking Some Things Over and a plan is taking shape. In the mean time, I've put a 10K on the calendar nine weeks from now, both as something to work towards and look forward to running-wise and also as a bit of a fitness gauge:

The Giant Race is a mainstay of the San Francisco road racing scene, historically offering a pretty flat & fast (not to mention scenic!) 5K, 10K, and half over two days (though it looks like this year there is no half), but for one reason or another I've never run it. Actually I know one reason I've never run it and that's because of the price. The 10K cost me $90 and the 5K is $75, and those are the early bird prices before registration fees, optional bib mailing, if you want the swank VIP package, etc.

Especially when I first moved to SF 14 years ago, that was farrrr to rich for my blood. These days I'm willing and able to swing it IF it's particularly worth it to me, which this year it is, because:

• The date is the one I need. I have a dumb amount of travel over the summer & early fall & a bunch of weekends already booked up with stuff, so my options for local races, especially in the 10K range, are pretty sparse.
  
• The start/finish is a very quick and easy BART ride or a very reasonable 3-mile warm-up jog from my house. No driving or getting up butt early required!
• Related, no hotel needed, making this one actually *cheaper* than two of the four races I ran this past spring.
  
• Though I can't find a link to a course map yet, the courses in the past have been pretty flat & fast as they run along the waterfront on pavement. Currently the site says that "This year’s race course will give runners the chance to enjoy beautiful surroundings and pass by iconic San Francisco landmarks along the Embarcadero, take in scenic views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge, and finish on the field at Oracle Park," which suggests the course will be the same or at least very similar as in the past.
• Weather! If you're going to run a distance race in August, San Francisco is absolutely the place to do it. It might be 105F everywhere else in the country but odds are good it won't get above 70F here (again sorry not sorry).
  

Training for this race is going to be a bit tricky considering I'll be traveling for work the week of June 26th and the middle part of July, but I'm hoping I can still squeeze in enough quality work to make some decent progress by August.

Related: The last two 10Ks I ran were last summer (2021), and they did Not Go Well to put it lightly! I was really struggling with running then so I am really looking forward to taking care of some unfinished business with this distance and seeing what I can do. :)