I am on a roll and have been looking up half marathons right and left to sign up for. I love the race atmosphere, the feeling of finishing, the medal, the post-race food, everything... I was tempted to sign up for this HM in May and that but I have this nagging feeling that if I continued to sign up for one every other weekend, I would
a) run out of money
b) never really improve or at least not improve as much as I could if only I trained properly
I know that with any activity the gains are more in the beginning (2:37 -> 2:20). I don't know if I should
- simply continue what I'm doing (two short runs during the week and a long(ish) weekend run)
- keep increasing mileage with no speed workouts
and see if I can still make significant progress ... Or, should I
- decide not to race again till I complete a full-fledged training plan to break, say, 2:10 or 2:05
- change focus and try to do well at a shorter distance?
I guess I can make that call after my fourth(!) HM. Nope, call made before HM and before post got published!
While I was looking for my next HM, I came across a couple of all-women races. It piqued my interest and I looked around for more such races. They seem kind of self-defeating at some level because while trying to empower women, they also stereotype (wrongly at that) and dumb down women unfortunately. For example...
Diva Half Marathon: This is probably the one that irked me the most. Admittedly, English is not my mother tongue but my good friend, Urban Dictionary confirms what I thought was the connotation of the word, 'diva'. Most women I know would not like to thought of as 'diva' or 'princess' since it most likely means you are an asshole who happens to be a woman. Next, all the pink and fluffy boas and tiaras... I don't know. I guess it takes all kinds but grown women think this is cute? Do they also wear pink on Wednesdays?
OK, I feel pretty mean now but I am not picking on just this one race/series, though the pink is definitely an eyesore. This is a rant targeted at any and all 'diva' named race.
See Jane Run: I am not a fan of this one simply because of the tagline - I run for chocolate and champagne - which is just not true for me. I run (races) because it gives me a sense of accomplishment (no matter how slow I am). Completing a race makes me feel good about myself. I run using a training place so I don't die on race day. As simple as that. I don't run for food and drink but if you were to twist my arm and make me choose, I would pick pizza (constant), iced coffee (if it were hot) and soup (if it were chilly), not sugar and fizz. Well, I sure hope they plan to have some salty post-race snack because I signed up for this one! The timing is right, so I am biting the bullet. At least, my bib won't read 'diva'.
Mermaid Series: I actually like this one; or maybe it is simply because there is not very much on the site to take issue with. The name, colors, website are all feminine and pleasing but not cringeworthy. This also seems reasonably priced compared to other races in the area. I would have loved to do the HM on May 10th but.... see a) and b) above. I am contemplating running the 10M on November 9th.
a) run out of money
b) never really improve or at least not improve as much as I could if only I trained properly
I know that with any activity the gains are more in the beginning (2:37 -> 2:20). I don't know if I should
- simply continue what I'm doing (two short runs during the week and a long(ish) weekend run)
- keep increasing mileage with no speed workouts
and see if I can still make significant progress ... Or, should I
- decide not to race again till I complete a full-fledged training plan to break, say, 2:10 or 2:05
- change focus and try to do well at a shorter distance?
While I was looking for my next HM, I came across a couple of all-women races. It piqued my interest and I looked around for more such races. They seem kind of self-defeating at some level because while trying to empower women, they also stereotype (wrongly at that) and dumb down women unfortunately. For example...
Diva Half Marathon: This is probably the one that irked me the most. Admittedly, English is not my mother tongue but my good friend, Urban Dictionary confirms what I thought was the connotation of the word, 'diva'. Most women I know would not like to thought of as 'diva' or 'princess' since it most likely means you are an asshole who happens to be a woman. Next, all the pink and fluffy boas and tiaras... I don't know. I guess it takes all kinds but grown women think this is cute? Do they also wear pink on Wednesdays?
OK, I feel pretty mean now but I am not picking on just this one race/series, though the pink is definitely an eyesore. This is a rant targeted at any and all 'diva' named race.
See Jane Run: I am not a fan of this one simply because of the tagline - I run for chocolate and champagne - which is just not true for me. I run (races) because it gives me a sense of accomplishment (no matter how slow I am). Completing a race makes me feel good about myself. I run using a training place so I don't die on race day. As simple as that. I don't run for food and drink but if you were to twist my arm and make me choose, I would pick pizza (constant), iced coffee (if it were hot) and soup (if it were chilly), not sugar and fizz. Well, I sure hope they plan to have some salty post-race snack because I signed up for this one! The timing is right, so I am biting the bullet. At least, my bib won't read 'diva'.
Mermaid Series: I actually like this one; or maybe it is simply because there is not very much on the site to take issue with. The name, colors, website are all feminine and pleasing but not cringeworthy. This also seems reasonably priced compared to other races in the area. I would have loved to do the HM on May 10th but.... see a) and b) above. I am contemplating running the 10M on November 9th.
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