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We’ve enjoyed the “time off” after the marathon. We basked in the post-marathon satisfaction for several days, with new photos and a video of the finish (go to the 4:46:53 – 4:00:46 video, and we’re at 3:48:08 and 4:00:23 clock time). Neither of us ran for several days to give our legs a much needed rest. When I went for a short 3 mile run on November 5, it was a struggle to manage 9:30s. I gave myself another few days off before running again, and this time was back in form at 8:35s for 6 miles. Since then I’ve been running for fun, not worrying much about pace, just feeling good to be outside and enjoying the company of Brian or another buddy. I’m also enjoying that 8:30s are a comfortable pace, whereas last year at this time I was running 9s and 9:30s on my easy runs.

I promised myself I would not think about the next season until after Thanksgiving, but that’s been hard to do. I have reached many goals this year – running my first Ultra, running a Boston-qualifying marathon, learning to fuel myself on long runs, and keeping up consistent training through the “off-season” last winter through this fall. (I say off-season in quotes because I didn’t really stop training since last year’s marathon, and in fact I’ve been training consistently since July 2009.) So, what’s next?

One option would be to work on speed and do shorter races (5K to half marathon). Another would be to focus on trail running and ultra races. It’s been really fun to do “destination” races, so I’ve thought about planning my 2011 race calendar around visiting friends and family, and encouraging our friends to run with us. Brian and I have really enjoyed training together, but I know that my running training has caused him to do more running and less biking than his otherwise planned this year. For me to do triathlon training is particularly tough with my work schedule and commute; it’s unlikely that even if we both opted for Tri training that we’d work out together much.

Look for a new year’s post of 2011 races once we work out a plan. In the mean time, we’ll keep up our base fitness and enjoy the holidays. If you have a favorite local race you’d suggest to do with us or recommend to us, please comment on this blog!