Don’t ask! I’m not sure what motivates me to run races when I haven’t trained for them. There was Bethel last month. This month it is tomorrow’s Conquer the Mountain Half in Franklin.

I have found that the way to get to know an area is to know the area’s runners. To be able to do that, one must run local races. So I am running local races.

It helps that this is November and I am in Angie Maske-Berka’s 100 miles in November. This will be a challenge for me as I haven’t run 100 miles in a month in over a year. I have hit 100 miles combined twice in that time. The first time was January when I was training for and riding my first cycling event in decades. That training managed to bump me over 100 miles. And in April, I hit 100 miles exactly in combined mileage – which means I ran and walked a combination of 100 miles. This is what I am hoping for in November.

I’m also hoping that this boost will get me through the holidays with little or no weight gain. If I get a good November base, I will keep going into December and beyond. In that light, Conquer the Mountain will be my race of the month. It seems to be shaping up to be a great race. I am not sure exactly how bad the mountain will be but it is all hills and I can already feel my legs screaming. When I’m done running, it will be off to the WNC Pottery Festival.

Sunday is my first big event as a faith formation coordinator. We are holding a ministry fair for the faith formation children so they know what is going on in the church other than their classes. Sunday night is our first youth group meeting.

What are your weekend plans? Do you plan out weekend events or do you just let the weekend happen?