I initially wrote up my first pass at fall 2018 race planning back in April.

Back then, this is what I was thinking:

1. Train for a goal half marathon in December (Wilmington Historic Half)
2. Monitor my training to determine when a marathon will fit (i.e., do I run the half as part of training and run the marathon sooner, or do I run the half and then roll into marathon training after that?)
3. Possibly run either a February or March marathon

At this point, not a ton has changed, other than I've nailed down a potential marathon - Wrightsville Beach Marathon on March 9. I picked that partially because of the timing, and partially because of the location. I'll be heading to the Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach area for the half marathon in December, so I'll at least have some familiarity with the area for the marathon. 

Fall 2018 race schedule

My race schedule hasn't changed a ton, either, but I did decide against the Myrtle Beach Mini and instead I'm running the Bohicket Marina Half Marathon in November. That won't be a goal race, though. The plan for that one is to run it as a tempo with a few miles at goal half marathon pace, just to test the racing waters. 

This is what I've got on the schedule for fall at this point:

• September 8 - HOPE FOR HAITI 5K (trail race) 
• September 15 - RUN HOLDEN BEACH 5K 
• September 29 - TURTLE TREK 5K (beach race) 
• October 6 - ISLE OF PALMS CONNECTOR 5K
• November 10 - SUMMERVILLE SWEET TEA 10K (tentative)
• November 17 - BOHICKET MARINA HALF MARATHON (tempo run)
• November 22 - CHARLESTON TURKEY DAY RUN 5K
• December 2 - WILMINGTON HISTORIC HALF MARATHON (goal race)
• December 8 - KIAWAH ISLAND HALF MARATHON (pacing a friend)

I haven't set pace or time goals yet for any races. It's been so long since I've actually raced and I'm not sure how it will go. What I do know is that I've run higher mileage this summer than I have any summer since 2013. The last time I even came marginally close was summer 2015 and I was still racing okay then (despite my asthma issues). This time around, I don't have those issues (at least I don't think I will in a race; I don't have them on regular runs anymore). 

So where does that leave me? I'm not sure. I'm hoping for some PRs. I know my body has been through a lot the past few years, but I've been seeing some solid runs even though the weather here is still terribly hot and humid. When the weather breaks in the fall, I'm hoping to see some serious pace pickups and finally, a comeback from all of the setbacks of the past few years.

What races do you have planned for fall? Have you started training yet?