Monday, September 12, 2011

26 Days & Post Marathon Goals

Only 26 days left to my very first ever full marathon!  I'm 14 weeks down in the training program and only 4 weeks left!  I remember when I first started training, I would count the weeks...1 week down, 17 to go...2 weeks down, 16 to go!  I thought back then, "when I'm finally past the halfway point and I have more weeks finished than left to complete, it's going to feel surreal!"  And it does!  ONLY 4 WEEKS LEFT!  It's amazing.  And now that I've completed the 18 miles and I have the 20 mile run this weekend, I know I can do the marathon.  I KNOW I CAN.  It's an amazing feeling actually!

I'm a little depressed though.  You only run your first marathon once!  You will never run your first one again!  So I'm going to really make this one count!  I'm going to remember this training and I'm going to remember the marathon.  I'm going to make a photo collection of all photos I took while training for the marathon.  I'm going to take pictures that day.  I'm going to write down things that happened during training and also what I remember while running.  I never want to forget this feeling because it won't happen again!  (At least with a marathon, I may have other "firsts" though).

Now my mind is set to "after" the marathon.  What am I going to do after?  I've been so focused on training.   What days do I have to run this week?  How can I arrange my schedule to fit it all in?  What's my long run on the weekend?  No friends and family!  I can't go for a drink on Friday night! (haha).  It's time to start setting new goals.  It's time to start cleaning my house again!!  (Haha!  Too tired to do it now after all this running!!).

So, I have signed up for two post-marathon shorter runs in November just to keep me running!  I've got a 5k Turkey Trot in my neighborhood for November 13th.  I also signed up for a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning that is 4 miles long.

I have thought about trying a triathlon.  Maybe that should be a new goal for next year.  I'll see how I feel after this marathon.  I may just want to sign up again and try for a better time (as my new goal). 

I also want to say thank you to all of you that have given me advice or encouragement throughout this training!  It's been so helpful!  I can't wait to share my marathon time with all of you on October 9th!

6 comments:

  1. I am SO excited for you!

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  2. Way o go girl. I am so proud of you for getting to this point. Something I was never able to achieve (due to the fact that I am very old and run down Ha ha)... So glad you have reached this point!

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  3. Anonymous9/12/2011

    Great job! The hard work you're putting in will pay off at the marathon! Triathlon is a completely different beast -- I did my first one this summer and had a blast! To me, it's more technical in preparation because you have to focus on so many sports & improving at all of them. But the overall time spent training was less.

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  4. Dad - when did you start reading my blog again?? lol

    Lauren - yes, I'm a little afraid of a triathlon! I'm afraid of the biking part and the transitions!

    Thanks Tricia!

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  5. Great job Amanda! Looking forward to reading all about your first marathon!!

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  6. I think you are going to do great Amanda!! My husband was so happy when I got out of the water at the one and only triathlon I've done - swimming is not my thing at all.

    If I would do any type of different race, it would be a duathlon with biking (I did just type baking!) and running. :D

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