2012 Race Schedule

Alright!  I finally have next year set!

Haha...okay, not quite. But for the most part, I have every race narrowed down that I'm planning on doing. All that I'm still waiting on are some solid race times and placing in my age group! Let me explain:

Race Number 1 for 2012 is going to be the Westport St. Patrick's Day Run!  It's a 4 mile course, and will be the shortest race I have ever done!  Rach is going to do it too, and I'm shooting for a quick race!  I'm already trying to plan my "festive" outfit!

Next up will be the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon, on April 14, 2012.  This will be in the heart of my large volume training for the triathlon season, and I will probably be using this more as a training run of sorts.  Well, at least that's the plan right now...

Two weeks later, I will be doing my second 4-mile race of 2012, the Sabates Eye Center Trolley Run!  This is a fairly popular race in Kansas City, one that I've never done before.  I am hoping to qualify for the elite group by running a sub 7:30/mile pace at the Westport run in March.  The course is almost all downhill, so I'm expecting an INSANE finish time from this race!

Triathlon season OFFICIALLY begins on May 20! The Kansas City Triathlon will be my first triathlon of the year, and my first Olympic distance race!  The race will be part of the 5i50 Series, which will allow athletes to qualify for the Hyvee Triathlon 5i50 US Championships in September (this might be foreshadowing....).  Top 10 in each age group qualify, with the top 5 in each getting free race entries.  My guess is the race is going to be HUGE!!! Much bigger than previous years!

Next up is my A race!  My number one focus for 2012:  Ironman Kansas!  My first Half Ironman race is going to be the first triathlon I have ever seen!  I am already a bit nervous, as I hear the bike course is hilly and windy. But I'm putting in a good amount of saddle time already, and I will be ready to go come June 10! And I'm hoping Chrissie Wellington will be handing me my finisher's medal at the finish line!!!

July 8th, I will be defending my 2nd Place finish in the 25-29 age group at the Shawnee Mission Park Triathlon!  I will be doing the short course for the 2nd year in a row, and will try to focus on speed and trashing my legs on the hills!  Oh boy!

One week later, I will be doing the shortest race of my short career, and my first 5K!  I will be racing in the Sunflower State Games, and will be doing the Governor's Cup 5K race!  I will also be sporting some Team Beef gear, as they are the sponsor for the 5k and 10k!  I'm hoping my pace is better than my 13.1 pace!

After a month layoff to get my legs back under me, I'm going to be doing my first KLM race in Kansas City, the Jackson County Triathlon, Long Course.  The race promotors have had a long and sometimes "difficult" history in Kansas City, but I'm really hoping for a great race!  It's one of the longest standing triathlons in the Midwest, and I'm excited to see what I can do on the course!

And now we come to the undecided part of my schedule:  September.  What I am shooting for is a qualification spot in my age group for the Hyvee Triathlon 5i50 US Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.  It's probably one of the biggest Olympic Distance races in the world, and I think it would be incredible to qualify.

As I mentioned before, all I have to do is get in the top 10 in my age group at the Kansas City Triathlon. While this might seem easy/easyish, I'm pretty sure the race is going to be packed full of people wanting to qualify.  Plus, it's not my A race for the year, and I know I won't be tapering and peaking for the race.  I could still race at Hyvee if I don't qualify, but I think it would mean quite a bit more if I earned a spot!

 I'm probably going to be throwing in one more stand-alone run in October or November, depending on how my September looks, to round out the year at 10 planned races.  I'm still considering the Kansas City Half Marathon (again), or the Gobbler Grind Marathon in November.

Regardless, 2012 is shaping up to be a fun and race filled year!  I'm just hoping I can stay on top of my training, all the while remaining injury free!

Hope your year is looking great! Anyone racing any of these?  I'm looking to draft AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! Kidding... totally kidding.

Thanks for reading!