Summer Doldrums

Okay, so it's been almost two months since my last event, the poorly-organized, insanely hot and humid Pasadena Half Marathon.  I took a little time off after that, and then of course shut it down completely a couple weeks ago to deal with what I believe was tendinitis in my left foot.  Now I'm all healed up and back in the groove, training hard for a very busy fall season.  I had entered a local event, the Hangar Half Marathon, but that race has been canceled for "reasons beyond our control."  This is the same race director who canceled his last race as well.  Fool me once, shame on you, etc. etc.

Beach Cities medal.  The Holy Grail.

So my next event is a very local and very small 5K, coming up on September 21.  I don't think it's even officially timed, and there's no finishers' medal.  Just a t-shirt and a run, hanging out with some of my school people and other friends.  Nothing wrong with any of that, of course.  Then comes a slightly bigger 5K on October 12, which Theresa and I entered specifically for the very cool, Halloween-themed skull medal.  That race kicks off my very first two-event weekend, as we're going right from the 5K to the expo for the much larger Long Beach International  City Bank Marathon & Half Marathon.  I'm running the half, and Theresa is just going along for support this time.  We're staying overnight in Long Beach, and the race is bright and early on Sunday, October 13.  This race will be the second in a three-race trilogy called the Beach Cities Challenge.  Runners who complete a major race (half or full) at the OC Marathon, Long Beach Marathon, and Surf City Marathon earn a special "Beach Cities Challenge" medal which looks like something Flava Flav would wear if he were into distance running.  I've already run OC, and I'm signed up for the full Surf City Marathon on Super Bowl Sunday.

Must have mega-medal.

So it's full-training mode for pretty much the next six months or so with events every few weeks.  In addition to those above, I'm also doing the Rock 'N' Roll events in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, a New Year's half marathon, and the 2014 San Diego Half Marathon.

You knew I was crazy already, right?

In other news, my brother-in-law Barry sent me a pair of Injinji toe socks last week, and I immediately ordered three more pairs.  They feel kind of weird at first, but once you get used to them, they're pretty comfortable.  Of course, being the fashion diva that I am, I've also picked up a few more outfits and a great pair of ASICS Gel-Nimbus 15's.

Don't judge me.