so what's next?
yeah. good question!!
well in the immediate future-recovery. taking an entire week of rest-my legs have earned it. today, the last bit of soreness went away from my quads (and subway stairs are no longer a problem) but still don't want to push it. might start running again next week, might not-play it by ear. I do miss my Monday night spin classes, so now that I don't have to worry about fitting miles in, would love to revisit those.
And for the rest of the year-just ease back into it. Might not go back to speedwork until '07. Most likely I'll be able to make an appearance at next month's club points race, the Joe Kleinerman 10K-I think 5 weeks is enough recovery time. Little iffy about a 5-mile race on Thanksgiving-too close, I think.
But I'm sure the burning question is-will I do another marathon? The answer is yes-but not until next fall. I want to stay away from the spring for now, as I am afraid that year-round marathon training may lead to burnout, plus I'd like to target some shorter races for late spring, like April/May. I've never run a 10-mile race before, plus I'd still like to get that half-mary time under 1:45. So that's the plan for spring to keep me motivated, but not burned out.
And for fall-well I have my 9 races done so I have a guaranteed spot in next year's NYCM, should I decide to go for it again. But I'm debating whether to make a repeat performace there, or run a different one in hopes of a faster time (only downside to that would be not having the home field advantage like I have in NYC.) And a couple of you on and off the blog have hinted to me at the possibility of trying for a BQ...I'll have to play it by ear. 18 minutes is a lot of time to shave off. Maybe, with a little more mileage (I peaked at 41 mpw this time around) I could get there, but it would also depend on other things in my life allowing me the time to get in higher mileage-and if my body will hold up as well. But I have plenty of time to try for a BQ (and hey, if it takes long enough I'll only have to shave off 13 minutes!!)
So that's the plan for now. We now return to our regularly scheduled recovery...
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FWIW, I shaved off twenty minutes between my first and second marathons, so don't give up on the BQ yet!
After my first marathon I swore I would never do that again. Two weeks later I thought, well, maybe one more, in a year or two.
Six month later I was there on the start line.
As for your racing question, two years ago I did a Turkey Trot after the marathon on pretty much no running and PR'd. Amazing what a little R&R can do!
I'm hoping to be out there for the Kleinerman 10K but we'll see.
I am so fired up right now I want to race this weekend... But that's probably a bad idea.
I totally think you can BQ. Just keep up the training thru the winter months and go for it come the fall.
You're being too modest. Since anything you promise in the week or so immediately following the marathon doesn't count, your goals should be much, MUCH MUCH BIGGER! It's going to be revised anyway; so make it extreme -- any extreme! Either you're never running again (like Thomas) or you're going to go sub-3. Whatever goal you publish, it's still so close to your race that no one will give it a second thought when you recant after two weeks recovery. Go ahead and try it. Just think how much fun it'll be to announce that you're going to the Olympic Trials!
how about chicago???? If I am able to run again (have yet to try that), I am going to do it. It's the 30th anniv, and it's a really fast course. Just throwing it out there...
I'm 99 percent sure I'm doing Chicago, too, barring any injuries. As Runner26 said, flat course=fast AND crowd support that rivals NYC's. Plus you'd have her and me there to show you all the hot spots around town.
I think Jon's advice is best: tell everyone you're putting your name down for Badwater, or that you're going to race Karnazes to San Francisco!
Seriously though, you've heard this before I'm sure, but a good general rule is one rest day per mile of the marathon. That doesn't mean no running -- just take it easy for about 26 days. That said, I had the same experience as uptown girl. I set a PR in a Thanksgiving race just weeks after my first marathon, NYC'03, without running a step in between. Unfortunately, I continued to not run a step for the rest of that whole winter. Apparently the post-marathon-blues is a common phenomenon. It's great that you are wanting to get back out there so soon.
I've already decided I'm not racing anything else this year until Houston marathon... but I keep looking at last year's JK10K shirt and thinking, "come on, just one little race would be fun..."
i'll do it if you will. :)
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