Betting on Vegas--and Beyond

In a few days, I leave for Sin City. Sunday night I will be running the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon, otherwise known as "Strip at Night", since the race will be run on the famous Las Vegas strip at night. In fact, this is the first year that this race will be at night. I am very excited, both in terms of the race (the lights! the crowds!) and the weekend itself (in addition to just getting away by myself, I am meeting up with lots of friends from Twitter and Dailymile, most of whom I haven't met in real life before).

I am a bit anxious, however. I am injured, yet again. While my plantar fasciitis is better (it's still there, but much better after several ART sessions, stretching and working on my form) I am having pain in my leg. It started during the Silver Strand Half Marathon a few weeks ago, when I had pain in my left glute most of the race. Since then, the pain hasn't really gone away, although it's spread more down my leg. I think it's sciatic nerve pain, which I've had before.

Because of this pain, I am re-thinking my race goals for next year. In 2012, I have 8 (yes, 8!) half marathons on the schedule, not counting the 2-3 triathlons I'd like to do. I'm thinking of cutting those races down to 5; there are 3 races in San Diego (Carlsbad, La Jolla and America's Finest City) that, when you do all 3 in a calendar year, you get an extra medal at the end, called the Triple Crown. I'm thinking now of waiting to Triple Crown in 2013. Those races are local and I can easily do them later, while having some more recovery time in between races might really help me.

Remember, I will have done 3 half marathons at the end of 2011--Long Beach in October, Silver Strand in November and Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas in December. This will qualify me for the lowest level of entry to the Half Fanatics, which I am anxious to join. So, having done these 3 races recently, here is my proposed 2012 race schedule thus far:

January: Carlsbad Half Marathon
February: Surf City Half Marathon
March: Super Seal Triathlon (Olympic distance)
April: Hollywood Half Marathon AND La Jolla Half Marathon
May: OC Half Marathon
June: Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon
July: Solana Beach Triathlon (sprint distance) (this is a "maybe" on my schedule)
August: America's Finest City Half Marathon
September: San Diego Classic Triathlon (Olympic distance) OR Super Frog Triathlon (Half Ironman distance)
October: Portland Half Marathon

Just looking at all of that, it really makes sense for me to take those 3 half marathons off the schedule to allow for extra rest time. I'll make my final decision after running the race this weekend; I have already bought my bib for the Carlsbad race, but can easily sell it.

So, what does this mean for my race in Las Vegas? Well, I'm planning on going all out, balls to the wall, and doing my best. I would LOVE to reach my "A" goal, (well, really my "B" goal) which is to break the 2:30 barrier. I'm planning on taking a few weeks off from running after this race, concentrating instead on biking, swimming and using the elliptical machine. I need to rest my leg and heal more.

So, here are my final goals for this weekend's race:

"A" goal: Finish uninjured (or as unhurt as possible) with a smile on my face
"B" goal: crush the 2:30 time mark (2:29:59 or less)
"C" goal: PR (anything less than 2:31, which is my current PR)
"D" goal: Just have fun and enjoy racing the strip at night

I look forward to updating this on Monday, when I return from Vegas, hopefully with a shiny, new PR!