Most runners experience a bit of a let down following a really big race. We often find it difficult to get motivated to do just about anything for a couple of weeks--or even for a few months. I have decided to take a few precautions to avoid this kind of post-marathon funk. So, I've set some pretty tough goals for myself--including doing a triathalon this summer and qualifying for the Boston Marathon sometime within the next two years.
My next big races will be the Team Nashville 10 Miler in early February and the Austin Freescale Half Marathon at the end of that month. In March, I will run the Tom King Half Marathon. And then in April, I will tackle the really big one: the Country Music Marathon. After that, it will be time to begin training for a triathalon--I think I will try to do the one in Chattanooga.
But, I am not going to wait for these headliner races to get myself back into the swing of things. Instead, I am going to pick right up where I left off. So, this weekend, I will run in the Jingle Bell 5K in Nashville's Centennial Park. And after that I'll run as many 5K and 10K races as I can squeeze into my schedule through the winter and spring.
Qualifying for Boston and doing a triathalon are no mean feats. I am going to have to stay really focused and work really hard. But, even with my haphazard and ill-structured training up to this point, I've come reasonably close to the Boston cut off. So, if I can discipline my training, strengthen my core, get in more long runs, add the swim and bike cross-training, and develop some basic speed techniques over the course of the next few months, I might actually have a chance.
At the very least, I should be able to beat the blues.
