Back home from Memphis. Wife and son wanted to see some of the sights, many of which I ran past yesterday (and some of which I didn't even notice). So we went to the old Lorraine Motel, where MLK was assassinated in 1968 (and which I missed during the race), by Sun Records, where Elvis recorded his early hits (I did notice that during the race; it was very close to the timing mat at 13.1 miles) and a few other downtown landmarks.
My wife liked Memphis and wants to come back sometime when I'm not distracted by a marathon or a football game or something. Works for me.
So we get home, and I veg out watching football and doing laundry and stuff, and then, as the evening goes on, I notice my thighs are hurting more and decide I need a little workout to get the blood flowing. So I go for a very... slow... jog of 2.45 miles in 40:27. You may deduce from the pace that most people would have described what I was doing was walking, and you would be correct. But the legs felt better as I went on, and I was actually able to pick up the pace. The hills around here on the Fairway loop were no issue at all.
Where do I go next? Dunno. A spring marathon? Maybe. Chicago? Could be. Mid-South in November at Wynne? Possibly; I've heard good things about that race, and I could actually drive over there that morning. Just run 5 and 10Ks through the spring and decide later? That's an option too. Maybe San Antonio in November; I hear it's a good flat fast course, ripe for BQ picking. Not ready to decide.
Obviously, that BQ is not way out there in the distance like it's been for the last nine months; it's dangling right in front of me, ready to grab. I just have to decide how best to grab it. I think building my mileage base even further is the way to go, something like Sasha describes. Put in a whole bunch of 50-, 60-, maybe even 70-mile weeks, then do a marathon program from there. I don't have the time to do 90- or 100-mile weeks, I don't think, but I can do multiple 70s. Then again, with what I've put my family through for the last nine months, maybe I need to cut back on the running for a while and spend some more family time. My son will be in college in nine months, and he could use some dad time too. So I have to sort through all that and decide how to proceed. But for now, just kinda enjoy a 72-minute PR and let my legs heal for a couple of weeks. | 