THE TROUBLE WITH DAYS OFF...

...is that I spend most of them dreaming about where I'd like to run next.

It's a combination of loving living out of my suitcase (I've always wanted to be a flight attendant. Really!), wanting to fill my head with as many amazing sights and stories as I can in the 2nd half of my life, and my new found joy, meeting up with other distance runners. Oh, yeah...and the whole actually running thing. I like that, too...except on race day mornings, when I relentlessly question my own sanity.

As I prepare to wind things up on the 12 in 12 in 5 weeks in Santa Barbara, I have already become kind of antsy about 2010. I need goals. Until yesterday's day off, I had tentatively planned only four marathons for next year. I say tentatively because of current economic times. Part of the new challenge will be just how to work the airfare thing, for May's trip to Trieste and Prague and October's to Athens. One of those tickets will be funded largely by Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer miles. That gets me to London. From there it's a hop-skip-and-budget airline-jump to Italy. Then back to London from Prague, via another cheapo carrier, and back to SFO via Virgin. Greece is going to be a whole other kettle of fish. I might actually have to "go retail".

That's three of next year's races. The fourth is the brand new Oakland Marathon, on March 28th. Until they came up with this one I considered San Francisco my hometown marathon. But Oakland's practically next door, so I've gotta do it. I've already run most of the course while training for other events. Most of the rest of it I've done on my bike.

Yesterday I added the fifth.

Back in March 2004 I travelled to Los Angeles with a good friend. We threw our bikes in the back of his big red truck and headed south to do the Acura LA Bike Tour. It's when the organizers of the LA Marathon allow cyclists to ride the marathon route before the runners. It was a great bike ride, but, after completing it I swore I would NEVER run LA. It was one ugly, ugly course. Sorry, guys...but, I speak truth here. Yesterday I ate my words. They have changed the course. It now runs from Dodger Stadium to the beach in Santa Monica. I think I can deal with that. The new LA Marathon is set for March 21st...the week before Oakland.

I've done back-to-back marathons once before...this year's Salt Lake City and Big Sur. Next year's Trieste and Prague will be one week apart. I think I'll be okay with LA and Oakland...especially since Oakland will require no travel.

Starting to feel like I may have enough planned for 2010, but you never know. If I spend enough time searching online for other events, with cheap red wine by my side, I may just press the "enter now" key another couple of times.

Gotta run!