2016 has been quite a roller coaster ride so far. It started off with running my second straight Star Wars Rebel Challenge at Disneyland.

In February, I watched the U.S. Olympic Trials for the Marathon and got to meet Meb again!

I watched many friends of mine run the 2016 Sketchers Los Angeles Marathon from the We Run Social crew.

I ran the Knott’s Berry Farm Coaster 10K Run!

And I ran in the Angels Baseball Foundation 5K!

Shortly before the Angels Baseball Foundation 5K, this little guy showed up and our life changed forever in the most amazing way possible!

Before Colton arrived, I was in a training program designed to get me a 2:30:00 half marathon at the 2016 Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon. However, once he arrived, Brooke and I began examining our finances to figure out how our budget was going to change. I mean, with a third mouth to feed, clothe, and care for, we knew we’d have to make some changes. So, we’ve gone very conservative for the rest of this year. We want to take time to see just how much we need to actually adjust our budget to make sure Colton has the best we can provide. Other than cutting out some extras in our life, I had to examine my race schedule. The first cut was the 2016 Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon. I know that I’ve already paid the race entry fee. However, the hotel cost, plus food and extra gasoline is money I’d rather save for now. There’s always next year. I loved racing this race in 2015. So, I know I’ll be back.

Earlier this year, I was overjoyed when I got this notice that I had been accepted into the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon! When Brooke and I examined our budget, this was the race that caused the most nerves. After all, the expense of flying out to New York from LA, the hotel cost, food, and transportation was going to be extremely high. Initially, I tried to save this race because I thought that giving up this race this year meant I’d have to go into the lottery again next year. As I waited for official word this year, I saw on the NYRR Facebook page as person after person talked about how they had tried for 5 or more years to get in without any success. So, Brooke and I were looking really hard into how we could make this race still happen. Last week, I decided to see if there was an option to defer my entry to next year. I learned that I could cancel my entry for this year’s race and be able to get a guaranteed entry for next year. Now, I will have to apply for the race during their application period and pay the entry fee next year. Also, there is no refund for this year’s fee. However, if I apply during the application period and pay the entry fee next year, I will get to run in the 2017 NYC Marathon! That was a huge relief. Knowing this, makes the decision about whether to run this year or not really easy. I’m putting this race off for one year. This makes the most sense. By waiting until next year, I’ll be able to bring Brooke and maybe even Colton out to New York with me. If I raced this year, I’d be going solo.

In cancelling the trip to the NYC Marathon, I’ve decided to run in the 2016 Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon instead! I won’t be running the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge. But, I will run the Avengers Half…keeping me perfect at the Avengers Half Marathon (3 for 3)! Due to all the cancellations, I really needed a half marathon on the calendar. I didn’t want the Disneyland 10K to be my last race of the year. So, Brooke and I talked it over and agreed that I should run this race.

We also decided that I could run in the 5K race attached to the Long Beach Marathon Weekend. The race runs through the Long Beach Aquarium!  They ran this course for the first time last year. All accounts I saw made it look like a really fun race. The price is right. So, why not?

I’m still working out what my training schedule is going to look like with these changes. However, they are final changes. I won’t be changing the plan later. By January, Brooke and I will have a much better idea of how we need to budget for our family of 3 and that will determine how 2017 looks. I’m not going to worry about races in 2017 at the moment except for racing the 2017 NYC Marathon. Since the training  plan for the Avengers Half Marathon won’t start until somewhere at the end of July, I’m currently planning on keeping to the training plan I had set to get ready for the 2016 NYC Marathon and adjust things in July or August. After all, it couldn’t hurt to get me back to some big miles when this plan calls for them. Plus, it gives me the time to adjust to my new training regimen of 2 gym workouts (with time on the treadmill) and 2 outside runs.

Who knows? Maybe by the time the Disneyland 10K rolls around, I’ll be in the kind of running shape for a 10K PR that eluded me last year. I’m not going to make those predictions just yet. I’m happy to have my schedule set for the year for now and that I’m working on something new with my training. It’s time to prove that becoming a daddy doesn’t mean the end of my running. I see a bright future ahead.