Post Marathon Update

Well, it’s been a while since I last posted anything. I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’ll continue this blog, now that I’m not training for the marathon. Originally, I didn’t think so. But after doing this for a while, I kind of like having a place to share what’s going on in my life with friends and family (and the rest of the internet community). So, I may not be able to give weekly updates on my life (it’s not that exciting), but I’ll continue to keep you updated on my running, races, thoughts, plans, ideas and activities.

So, it’s been almost a month since the marathon. I’ve only managed to run 20 something miles in the last three plus weeks – which is less than I have been running on just Saturday mornings. Pathetic, I know. It’s been a nice break, but I really miss running. I think I have a mild case of Post-Marathon Depression. Training for this race has been such a huge part of my life over the last half year; I’m a little lost without it. It was such an amazing feeling to set your mind on a certain goal and do everything possible to achieve it. Now, I’m goal-less. I’m feeling rather lazy and undisciplined as well. I miss the energy and excitement that comes from running.

What I really want to do is run another marathon! I know, right? CRAZY!!! Who would have imagined that I would love it so much? It was just the most amazing experience and I want that feeling back! To my happiness, this is exactly the way I hoped I’d feel after the marathon. I’ve heard so many people say after their first marathon that they’ll never run another marathon again, or just never run again, period. That scared me. I really wanted to train wisely (physically and mentally) and then just enjoy myself during the race (to the extent one can possibly enjoy running for nearly 5 solid hours). If I could do that, I’d have a positive experience and want to keep running and possibly want to run another marathon. Mission accomplished.

But, as you can tell from reading this blog, marathon training is very intense and most of all, time consuming. It really took a toll on my relationship, friendships, social life and career. Not to say that it isn’t worth it, but it’s hard to think that I’m ready and willing to do that again so soon. Ryan would probably hate me and I’d most likely get fired. So, maybe it’s not worth it. I said maybe… :)

That being said, I need to do something to keep myself active, so I’ve decided to set a few new running goals for the remainder of the year. They’re not really new (see New Year Goals post), just awoken (is that a word?) from their winter hibernation. They mainly have to do with improving my times from previous races and getting some company out there on the road. So, here they are:

1. Run a 5k around 28:00
2. Run a 10k under 1:00
3. Run a Half Marathon under 2:00
4. Take Anna to a wheelchair race
5. Get Ryan to run with me more often

Simple enough, right? Ok then. I’ve signed up to run the St. Louis Science Center’s Run For the Stars 10k in Forest Park on June 7. That gives me just over a month to work on my 10k time. I’m also planning on running the Lewis & Clark Half Marathon again this fall, for the third time. This is a flat course, so I should be able to run it fast (fast for me, which is not really that fast). And just for fun, I’m thinking about doing the Columbia Half Marathon in October. I love Columbia (where I went to undergrad) and the course is a little hilly, but beautiful. So, that’ll be fun. And who knows, maybe I’ll reevaluate the goals in the fall and think about another marathon. In the meantime, there’s lots of wedding planning to be done. :

MTA: By the way, Rick and Lorna both kicked butt in their marathons. Rick finished Glass City Marathon, under awful miserable weather conditions (and a hurt leg) in 4:38:00. Way to HTFU!! Lorna gave Paula Radcliffe a run for her money, and finished the London Marathon in 4:42:43 (which means I was the closest to guess her finish time and she owes me dinner). You MUST read their Race Reports! Here is Rick's - Glass City Marathon. Here is Lorna's - London Marathon. Congrats to both of you AGAIN!