Catching up

It seems like lately I've been traveling and with all the travel posts I've not had a chance to blog about some of my racing/running/training thoughts and such.

So as I have several more Montreal posts waiting to be written, I figured I'd squeeze in some of the running thoughts here and now.

* I got a new Polar. Funny thing about the whole heart rate monitor was that in the latest issue of The Other Mag, there was a big story on heart rate monitors. I was thrilled to read it and some of the conclusions they came up with but the story only made me depressed after the Mud Run, after I'd lost my watch. Still, the best part about that story was that there are heart rate monitors with a fabric strap. That might keep me from getting torn open. But when I went to go look for a new heart rate monitor, I opted for the same one. It's gray, not black, but otherwise it's the same, a Polar F4.

* I'm not so sure about the Long Beach Marathon. I'm still hoping for the Ragnar to come through, but if it doesn't I might pass on the Long Beach Marathon. I'm leaning on joining the local running club, the Loma Linda Lopers, and if I do I'll train for the Surf City 2010 Marathon, which is the marathon they train for. Signups for the Lopers begin July 12 and I might well be there that morning to see what it's all about.

* The Mission Inn Run is on Nov. 8, 2009. I'd like to run in that race. I ran it last year and figure it'd be cool to run the local 10K every year if possible. I'd thought about the Camp Pendleton 13.1 Marathon but I'm not so sure about that one. It's a long ways away, but more than that I looked at the results from last year and my 2:14:50 finish time from my half-marathon would have been down towards the bottom in Camp Pendleton. Might be too tough for me. I'd love to run the Disneyland Half Marathon but that's a hundred bucks I believe, too much for a half marathon in my opinion.

* I'm still down for the local Mud Run, the SBSD Mud Run. That's on Sept. 12. I won't be wearing The Polar in that race.

* I got an email about this relay race, the Redrock Relay. Sounds interesting. I suppose it could be a backup in case the Ragnar falls through. It's in Utah, which is a bit of a longer drive than the Las Vegas race's starting point, which is actually closer to Utah than California.

* It's hot! It's officially summer in SoCal and the weather is creeping into the 90s. That means more early-morning runs for me, and also more trips to the gym... which is where I'm headed now.