My Races for 2011?

I'm not sure if I should first review 2010 or just start planning for 2011 running and racing.  I didn't meet many of my goals for 2010...so let's start thinking about 2011, then I can analyze 2010 and see what went right and wrong.  Here are my planned ultra races for 2011. Hopefully I can check them all off my list at the end of the year.  Maybe a few will even have an asterisk indicating a new PR!  I can dream.

• Riddle Run 28 ("solo")
• Yours Truly 50K
• KRR Fat Ass 28
• Land Betwn Lakes 26.2
• Potawatomi 50M
• Sandy Memorial 47K
• CRUD 8-Hour
• 5-Hr Dogs & Cats
• Sunburn Six
• Howl at Moon 8-Hr
• Rock Cut Hobo 50K
• Farmdale 30
• McNotAgain 30

They are also listed on the right side bar of this blog. One major theme is staying close to home.  I plan on venturing beyond the borders of Illinois only once--most likely for the Land Between the Lakes trail races (doing the marathon).  Steve Durbin, the RD of those LBL races, should feel honored, eh?  I decided to skip another Canadian adventure race--thought I would do Sinister 7 instead of the Death Race--but I'll do neither one. I don't have a 100 miler on next year's list either.  Instead I'm doing the 50 miler at Pekin, IL (Potowatomi Trail, previously known as "McNaughton Park").  If things seem to be going very well in the fall, I may add a 100 miler or a fast marathon to the schedule.  As far as "goal races," I am targeting Howl at the Moon as my main "kick some ass" race.  This year (2010) was my worst Howl ever...with good reasons...I had just come back from an undeserved DNF at the Canadian Death Race and my mother had passed away.  My heart was not into running.  I'll be back--stronger than ever--at the 2011 Howl at the Moon 8-Hour run.

I'd like to set some new personal records (PRs) along the way.  I'm confident I can run a fairly fast 50K.  Same for that 30 mile distance.  And my current PR at Howl (47.06 miles) will be broken too!  I don't list shorter races on this blog--they seem too insignificant.  Still, I'd like to run a few 5Ks, 10Ks, and maybe even a half-marathon.  If I do, I'd like to run them well...setting new PRs at those distances as well.  That's quite a set of goals.  Once I really look back at 2010, I'll set my "New Year's Goals" for 2011 and post them here.  They need to be specific, measurable, and achievable.  No problem dreaming...but I need to turn those dreams into reality.

UPDATE (January 6, 2011): I've added a hundred mile race to my 2011 race schedule!  The Hallucination 100 trail run in Michigan on Sept 9-10.   I've also decided to add a 10-hour run (Run Under the Stars) to my summer schedule.  Rock Cut Hobo 50K may fall off the list if I actually do the hundred miler.  Can't recover in ONE WEEK.