The Next Step

March 28, 2024

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesJimF's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
200720082009201020112012201320142015
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

New Palestine,IN,USA

Member Since:

Oct 23, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

5k - 18:59 (3/09)
4M - 25:06 (9/09)
10k - 41:01 (11/07)

Half - 1:25:58 (11/09)

Marathon - 3:06:33 (12/09)

Short-Term Running Goals:

1:25 for the half marathon
Sub 39:00 for the 10k.
3:07 marathon
18:30 5k

Upcoming Races



Long-Term Running Goals:

Break 3:00 for the marathon.

Personal:

Married, two daughters (18 and 15).  Masters runner trying to get competitive in my age group.

Favorite Blogs:

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Saucony Ride 5 (Red) Lifetime Miles: 372.70
ASICS Excel 33 Lifetime Miles: 152.00
Saucony Ride 7 Lifetime Miles: 249.00
ASICS DS Trainer Lifetime Miles: 212.20
Asics Cumulus 16 Lifetime Miles: 241.30
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
4.000.000.000.004.00

After 3 days off from running I finally did an easy run today. I came out of the marathon in pretty good shape. My left calf was sore probably from where it cramped up at the end. It is still a little sore today but felt ok running on it. Otherwise just some usual soreness in the thighs. I took it real easy today. We had about an inch of ice last night so stayed in on the treadmill today. It was good to get moving again.

Over the last 3 days I have been thinking about where to go from here. I have been trying to decide if I should continue to run some marathons or to take some time and focus on shorter races like halfs and 10ks. I do feel that my strength is in the middle distance races as opposed to the marathon. I have thought about spending the next 6 months really focusing on improving my time for the half and 10k but keeping the mileage up while I do this so that I could come back and try to run a faster marathon in the fall. I still think that someday I can run a sub 3 marathon but it is clear after this last marathon that I still have a ways to go and it probably won't happen in the spring. The only reason for running a spring marathon would be to run Boston since several others on the blog are running it and that would be fun but not sure it will help me get closer to my goals. I am going to be taking it pretty easy the next couple of weeks to fully recover from all of this marathon training so I have some time to think about. I would appreciate any thoughts that others have.

Saucony Ride Miles: 4.00
Comments
From rockness18 on Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 20:39:56

Jim,

Great to see you back on your feet. Looks as though you're being wise not to do too much too soon (I lost a week because of over ambition). You definitely show amazing strength in the middle distances...I'm not sure if I can match your 1/2 marathon pr right now. Also, at your rate of improvement, I'd agree that you have a sub-3 in you, yet probably not this Spring. My guess is that with a full year or two with 50-60 mile weeks, you'd have it in the bag. Or one strong Spring/Summer with at least 4-5 twenty miles runs.

Would love to see you run Boston for the experience, yet understand your thought process. I guess a lot depends on your long-range goals. Give it a week or two and perhaps you'll have a better feel for things. I'm still impressed you've run 2 marathons within the past 2 months...that's quite an accomplishment.

From Jon on Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 13:59:31

I would give it some more time- breaks can be good. Don't want to get burned out.

From wheakory on Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 18:39:27

That's a smart idea to take some time and identify what goals you want to achieve in the next few years. The important thing is picking a distance that you really want to peak at and then training hard for that distance to have a good race.

I like the middle distance too, because you can really have some fun with it. You can plan a better strategy than a marathon. But I like running marathon's the most because of the challenge, even though it might not be my peak distance. But that's what I enjoy and like to focus on, and for you that's what you need to decide. What distance race you enjoy running and training for.

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: