I haven’t raced or done a serious workout since June 23rd.

Since July 2010, I’ve raced a lot and I’ve had a lot of fun. New PRs, easy races, tough races, new friendships-I’ve experienced so much and it’s been great. This year my racing hasn’t been as serious. I’ve raced quite a bit when I look back on it, but I feel like I’m totally out of the racing scene. Here’s how the year has played out so far:

• January: No races, 3 workouts*
• February: 5k race 17:07, 1 workout*
• March: 5 mile race 29:07 (2 days after a 5 day stomach flu), 2 workouts*
• April: Hilly 15k race 56:52, Half Marathon “training run” 1:22:18, 3 not-so-impressive-workouts*
• May: 5k race 18:13, 4 workouts*
• June: 3 back-to-back weekend 5ks on certified courses: 17:16, 17:49, 17:32, no workouts*
• July: no races, 1 short workout* of 1.5 mile tempo + hills.

*I ran every day except when I had the stomach flu in March and a bad cold in July. The things I call “workouts” are days when I actually picked up the pace and got my heart rate elevated more than usual. As far as killer workouts that I’m proud of, I’ve only done 3 in 2012.

5 mile race after battling stomach flu all week. Felt horrible from the gun, but pushed through the pain. One of my proudest races.

So now July is over and I didn’t run a single race. I’m feeling so out of the racing scene because we are in Seattle which feels like a vacation and we have been traveling during our time in Seattle so I haven’t exactly had a free weekend. Now I’m trying to decide whether to find a Seattle race or just chill awhile longer. It feels strange to be out of the racing scene, but it also feels pretty good right now.

How many races do you usually run a year? I had 17 last year, 2 were marathons, and 8 so far this year, one half marathon. Are you where you want to be?