March 30, 2009

Now What?

I ran the NYD 5K on the first day of this year to motivate me to get back into running. I signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K (three months later) to motivate me to push myself a bit past a basic 3-miler to get back to doing a decent distance. I signed up for a post-natal ab recovery class to begin to get back some of the core strength I have lost, and I'm currently in week 7 of a 10-week class.

But what do I do now? I'm taking another class over the summer (Biceps, Babies & Buggies) focusing on core strength and overall fitness conditioning, but dont have another race my schedule.

This is where I get confused. There are TONS of 5K's in the city, one almost every weekend. 8K's are harder to find, and there are a few even longer distances. I really found the 8K to be easy and could have run further, but I had a hard time with the training. Its hard to find time in my schedule to run, and even harder to find time to do a longer run required for a longer race. But, the two primary longer races I can consider are:

Soldier Field 10 Mile
May 23

Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon
August 2

Right now I am a bit confused. I'm not sure how to plan out my summer, and how to fit in training for a possible race ... but I do think I need a goal out there to keep me motivated. I wouldnt have done what little running I did do if I didnt have the Shamrock Shuffle on my calendar :(

4 comments:

Jess said...

Both the 10 miler and the HM sound promising!

Sarah Jo Austin said...

I feel your pain. I'd like to tackle a marathon this fall, but I seriously need to get in a few 5Ks and 10Ks before that training kicks in in July. And like in Chicago, there are too many choices in Springfield. Maybe we should pick a weekend together and race "together."

Aron said...

sounds like you have a couple of good options there!! good luck deciding which one to tackle :)

robison52 said...

During the hot summer months in Vegas, I would strive to build a large base of mileage by running on the treadmill. Not too many races here during the summer when temperatures reach 110-120 degrees in the shade. Maybe in the summer you can try and reach new weekly mileage personal records. What do you think is the highest weekly mileage you can achieve by adding a couple of miles per week during the summer? By the Fall you'll be ready for any race from 10k to marathon. A goal of high weekly mileage must be taken by baby steps.