Two Halfs a month?

I just completed two Half Marathons a week apart.  Now, I'll be honest.  I was concerned that that time frame did not offer enough recovery time.  But, in the end I felt great.  I ran DC in 1:36 and a week later Wilmington in 1:34.  This does not mean that I want to make running two races a week apart a habit.  Not at all.  But, it does tell me that I can do two races within the same month and be OK.  Perhaps next time a couple of weeks apart for more recovery time.

After I got home this evening I looked over my 2012 race calendar.  I wanted to see where I could fit in another Half within a month I've already booked.  I then realized a couple of things.  First, July 20 is the Chicago Half.  It's not that far away but I had yet to book my flight.  So I took care of that.  This will be my first time to Chicago.  I'm excited because not only will I get to see a city I've always wanted to visit, but also my good friend Amanda who recently moved there from Cleveland. 

Second, I had deferred the Annapolis Half from 2011 to this year due to a last minute scheduling conflict.  I was under the impression that it would fall in November as it did last year.  I just checked the site and the Annapolis Half is taking place on December 1.  That means that my November is wide open for another Half.  So I did a little bit of research and settled on booking New Hampshire.  The race I selected is the Manchester City Half.

Manchester is the Granite State's largest city, sitting on the banks of the Merrimack River.  The Half will take me through its historic mill district and includes a climb to one of the city's highest points offering views of the Queen City and the surrounding areas.  It should be a great race.

I now have a Half Marathon scheduled every month from June - December.  I've got to be careful not to over extend myself.  An injury would terrible and disrupt the entire year.  I won't be going insane trying to schedule two races in every month.  But, perhaps two of those months can have two races booked a few weeks apart. I think that's a safe bet.

I'll end this post with a very nice comment I received today from my colleague Rachel.  I was chatting with her at the office about Wilmington, the hills it introduced me to, and how the race went overall.  She has run in the past and the impression I got today is that she would like to get back into it.  That's excellent.  This impression was only further highlighted when I got a very nice message from her as I was preparing to leave the office.  She says, "You've inspired me, I think I'm going to start running at least a 5K once a month."

It's a great feeling to know you've inspired someone.  I thought that was really nice.  I told her I'd record it here so I don't forget and maybe ... just maybe ... others will get inspired.