Winter Goals

So, now that marathon season is done, what's next?

First, I'm getting back to fencing. I held off until the race was over to reduce the chance of injury ruining all those months of training. I'd still like to earn a USFA ranking, but I've got a ways to go before that happens. I went back to class last week and felt as slow as molasses. They talk about football players seeing the game slow down when they get used to a new level of competition. Towards the end of the spring, I felt like I could see what was coming in a bout, but now everything has sped up again, and I found myself going on the offensive just to keep my opponent from having a chance to attack me. Against an evenly matched opponent, that's a sure recipe for a loss.

Second, I think I'm going to prepare for a half-marathon in the spring. By doing that, I want to give myself the chance to do other activities and not burn myself out in training. I came out of Chicago with a good feeling about where I had come in my training, and I want to look for ways to build on it. I think that I can beat my half-marathon PR without a problem if I train for it. The other advantage I see to preparing for a half is that I can work more on my speed, as it doesn't require so many long runs. That way, if I did decide to do another marathon, I'd be starting from a faster base, and could work my way back up the distances.

During lunch yesterday, I went to the gym and ran some negative split half miles to see how it felt. I started at a 9:30 pace and kicked it up half a minute every half mile for two miles. That last half mile at an 8:00 pace felt pretty fast, but I also wasn't gasping for air. If I can get my body used to an 8 minute-ish pace, at least for short distances, I should be able to break my 5k PR, if nothing else!