What's Next?

I have been doing some soul-searching lately about my plans for the future, especially as they relate to running. I have thought about and posted about my ideas for the future, which included running with the Luke’s Locker group to train for the Dallas White Rock Marathon and running the “Marathons of Texas.”

After San Diego, I have decided to go in a different direction. First of all, I was crazy to ever suggest that I would run all of the “Marathons of Texas,” which include the White Rock Marathon in December 2008, the Houston Marathon in January 2010, and the Austin Marathon in February 2010. Now that I have run two marathons in six months, even that seems like overkill.

I really enjoyed White Rock last year, and my connection with Scottish Rite Hospital for Children makes me want to support the race. However, my experience in San Diego showed me that races can be different, and it has heightened my desire to run different marathons in different places rather than running the same race twice. I debated doing the new Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in Las Vegas in December, but after reading some reviews of the race, I think I might give the race a few years to improve its organization.

I have also realized how much I love the half marathon. I like that I can push myself in the half in a way that I have not learned (and may never learn) to do in the full marathon. I fear pushing myself in a marathon, because I know that the pain will just last way too long. I really would like to break two hours in the half and run short races like 5Ks and 10Ks for the rest of 2009.

This means that I think, finally, I have a racing schedule that I can live with (note that this goes through next year, which really isn’t all the unusual for me):

• Fort Worth Runner’s Club (FWRC) 3 Amigos 4-mile Run – June 28, 2009
• FWRC High Noon Shoot Out 1.2-mile Run – July 19, 2009
• FWRC Watermelon 5K – August 16, 2009
• Heels & Hills & Him Half Marathon – Las Colinas, TX – September 27, 2009
• FWRC High “Five” 5 Mile Run – October 18, 2009
• San Antonio Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon – November 15, 2009
• FWRC Mote in Motion Half Marathon – November 22, 2009
• Dallas White Rock Half Marathon - December 13, 2009
• Houston Marathon – January 17, 2010
• Austin Half Marathon – February 14, 2010
• Fort Worth Cowtown Half Marathon – February 27, 2010

I am going to try some spinning classes, run a few times a week, and try to work on my swimming technique. To say I have any “technique” in swimming is an overstatement; I know how to doggy paddle and float, but my form stinks. I would like to improve so that I can get some good no-impact cardio work. I am going to keep and open mind about all of this, while focusing on shorter races to keep myself in good condition. Here’s to the rest of 2009 without a marathon!