>I surprised myself today when I realized I didn’t have to run for an hour after work and I was feeling both relieved and disappointed.
Marathon training is no joke. It takes a lot of time, a lot of physical and mental stamina, and you’re tired pretty much the whole time, if you’re doing it right. Now that the marathon is over, I find myself still in the mental mode of running 25-35 miles a week. I know that’s not a lot, comparatively speaking, but it was a big commitment for me.
I’m planning on running another 5K next month, but other than that, my sights aren’t set on any more races until December. I’m sure I’ll get involved with Run El Paso and sign up for some 5Ks or 10Ks, but I don’t have to really keep up the high mileage if I don’t want to. It’s a nice feeling.
I want to really focus though on toning up more with weight training and also dabbling in some unfamiliar cross-training exercises like swimming (getting my feet wet for a tri??) and martial arts. I also want to do more yoga. I guess I just want to be well-rounded (though not literally! ha!).
Maybe I can stick with this more relaxed plan for a few months. It’s only been a week and a half and I’m already missing our early-morning long runs. This weekend we go out for about 4 to 6 miles, and that’s barely an hour! However, I know we have to take it easy for the rest of the month.
I’ve been reading this book by Kara Goucher, world class runner. It reads much like a blog or casual conversation and certainly has good advice. One thing she mentioned that I want to try is running barefoot in the grass. Detweiler Park has lots of open mowed grass… I’ll have to try it out.
As far as long term goals, I feel like I have a lot of potential as a runner. I would like to get faster, and maybe break 24 minutes for a 5K at some point, or place (or even win!) in my age group. Of course, once I set my mind to something…
mercies per mile 