The lack of a plan can actually be a plan

Now that made it three weeks past Chicago, I guess it is safe to say that the recovery is over. I ran few miles the Saturday after the marathon and just over 12 miles the following week.  Even though the recovery plan called to get up over 15 miles total by last Sunday, I just didn’t feel like it and took the weekend off.  I figure I had earned at least that much.

However, I am committed not to repeat the same mistakes I made last year after finishing the Columbus Marathon in early October and then just basically shutting it down for a few weeks.  That ultimately led to falling out of shape and then injuring myself at the end of the year trying to get miles in and get back into shape again.  My refuge against that mistake was immediately signing up with Runners Edge for “winter maintenance” from November 3 to January 5.  After that, the full spring session will go from January 19 – May 31.  By sticking with the program and consciously working in more cross-training, especially during the maintenance session, I can build a strong base that I have never really had going into training for my next marathon.

What is my next marathon, anyway?  Unless something horrific occurs, I know that I will be able to enter the 2014 Boston Marathon, which will be run on April 21, 2014.  That is too far away to be my next marathon so I will probably look toward the fall of 2013 to run the next one, which will allow me to maintain through the 2013 holidays and then train hard without giving up my base going into Boston.  Currently, I am intrigued by the Marine Corps Marathon in October, but there are so many other options.  I may also want to run Long Beach, also in October.  Family considerations – like the fact that it will be Christy’s senior year of high school – factor in higher than most other considerations so I have no doubt it will be a “team decision.”  Other fall marathon possibilities include the Twin Cities Marathon, Portland Marathon, and the Wineglass Marathon – all in October.

I have plenty of time to figure all that out, which allows focus on the short-term.  Other than a Thanksgiving 5k race in Broomfield, I don’t have any races on my dance card.  That means I can focus through the holidays on maintaining and improving on my base while not spending a lot of time obsessing about a training plan or race schedule.  That said, I have not run a 5k since 2009, and that was when I was a lot slower and on a course that goes around the hilly CU campus in Boulder.  The race in Broomfield in 3 weeks is flat, and I plan to destroy my previous PR – if I can manage not to eat all the extra Halloween candy between now and then!

Looking ahead, I would like to run a half marathon in April or May and see if I can’t get my time below 1:30.  That would be pretty cool.  I’m sure I will sign up to run the BolderBoulder again, too.  I’ve run it four out of the last five years, and I think it is a blast.  (Although, I still haven’t been able to go off the course to dive down the slip n’ slide around Mile 2!)  If I manage to stay healthy, then I should have a better base and more speed going into the summer than I did this year.  If so, then maybe – just maybe – I might be able to bring that marathon time down under 3:10:00.  I am not sure if I will ever see a sub-3:00 marathon, but I think a sub-3:10 is a possibility.

Time will tell.  For now, I think I will just enjoy and maintain.