Well, Now What?

It's typical to get the "post-marathon blues".  With the main training goal firmly in the rearview mirror, no one would fault a marathoner for being a little...lost.  Well, I'm not lost.  (As I always tell Katie, I have an impeccable sense of direction, and that I'm remarkably modest.)

Some of it may be that I'm still on a high from the marathon—even a week and a half later.  Maybe I'm setting myself up for an eventual letdown, but the 2010 Twin Cities Marathon is one of those races that I'll remember for a lifetime along with the first race I didn't come in last, and the first race I finished first on my team.

But I've also set some short term goals for myself racing-wise, and I'm still trying to assemble the long term goals.  Here's what I've got going on:

Short Term

• Tesfa 5k:  This is a great race that Katie and I did last year.  It's really small, and it's on a beautiful course down in Ft. Snelling State Park.  I've set this as my "post-marathon recovery race".  I'm following Higdon's advanced post-marathon plan, and this 5k will be the flourish at the end.  I considered doing the Monster Dash 10 Mile a week earlier than the Tesfa 5k, but decided against it.  It think it might be too soon to race a 10 Mile, and I'm not going to pay 50 bucks just to do an easy 10 mile run.  If I enter a race, I'm going to race it!
• Turkey Trot:  Katie and I are still working on our Thanksgiving plans, but I'd like to do some sort of a Turkey Trot wherever we end up going.  Of particular interest is the Turkey Trot put on by The Parade Company in Detroit just before the best Thanksgiving Day parade in the country.  There's a 5k and a 10k (plus the Mashed Potato Mile), so I'd have plenty of options.  If we stay in MN, I need to do some searching.

December-January

• Indoor Triathlon:  Once things got ramped up for the marathon, cross-training went by the wayside.  I'm going to try and get back in the pool, and maybe plan some sort of indoor triathlon for the winter.  They seem like fun events, and the playing field is much more level because everyone uses the same equipment.
• Winter Carnival Half Marathon:  Not too sure on this one.  Katie is interested in doing this race, and it looks intriguing (and cold!).  I don't know if I could put in the training necessary to do well here with the Christmas holiday and all, but we'll see.

February-March

• St. Patrick's Day 10 Mile:  I'm considering making this my next "A Race".  It has good timing, and I've never raced a 10 mile before.  The training for the race would give me incentive to keep my base mileage up, which will help immensely with my plans for the summer.

Long-Term, Summer 2011

• I've been informally referring to Summer 2011 as my "Summer of Speed".  I'm going to take a year off of marathoning to focus on shorter distances.  In particular, I'd like to see how low I can take my 5k PR, with the big goal being finally breaking the 20 minute barrier.
• A PR-Buster 5k: I need to pick a race that I'll focus on for really working on that 5k PR.  The Brian Kraft PR is appealing because it's a really fast field and a flat course, but it's so early in the season that I may not be really ready for it.
• 2 or 3 Triathlons:  I enjoyed my triathlon experience this past summer, and I'd like to try my luck at a couple of them next summer.  I don't know which ones I would choose, but I do know that I'd like to do more of them.
• Red, White, and Boom! Half Marathon:  I enjoyed this race last summer (even in the humidity).  I'd train hard for this and maybe shoot for some ungodly fast time like 1:30.  If I could do that, it would set me up pretty well for my next goal…

Super Long-Term, 2012

• BQ:  If you had asked me after the 2009 TCM if a BQ was on my radar, I would have told you "Sure, when I turn 75 and the qualifying time is 4:45".  Things are different now.  Running a 3:42 marathon puts a BQ within reach—at least mentally.  A 31 minute drop in time is no small feat, but neither was a 67 minute one.  If I did make a run at BQ, it would certainly be at the Twin Cities Marathon.

2013

• Boston Marathon:  Well, this just follows from the previous one… ;-)

These plans are still in a state of flux (except the Tesfa 5k, which I'm 100% sure that I'll do).  Got any suggestions of races or goals?  I'm open to pretty much anything at this point.