Why I am not Racing in August or September

So, for those of you who have been following along, one of my goals for the year was to run a race each month. As you may have noticed, there is no August Race recap. It isn't just late, I didn't race last month and I am not going to race this month either. That said, the goal is still at least 12 races by the end of the year. There are two main reasons why I am not running these months.

First, I am behind in my training. The Space Coast Half Marathon at the end of November is my next big race. I am trying for a PR in this race, but my training has not been a smooth as I would like it. I have been sick, Baby E has been sick, we have been traveling and work has been hectic. All these excuses add up to being a few weeks behind where I would like to be. So, I made the tough decision to focus on running, not racing, for two months.

The other reason is that there were not a lot of races I wanted to do. One thing I have learned is that I only enjoy racing when I want to do the race. I am never going to be fast, so 5ks are not my favorite and running a random one just to race is not fun. I enjoy some of them, such as Run Nona at Night, Suck it Up Buttercup 5k and the Lady Track Shack 5k, but running them just to race is not my deal.

My I am excited that my racing hiatus will come to an end soon and the fall is full of races. This is what is on my calendar right now:

• UCF 5 Miler
• Skeleton Skamper 5k (I might freeze my butt off here)
• Run Nona at Night 5k
• Tower 10 Miler (tentative)
• Space Coast Half Marathon

I am still figuring out what I want to do for December. I am thinking about the Mount Dora Half Marathon, but not 100% sure I want to do another half this year. Let me know if you have any good December races.