Looking Forward, Looking Back

I know what you're thinking. Something along the lines of: The marathon is over! Finally! An end to the incessant posts about running!  Except, well, that is probably not going to happen. Although I do promise to try to give the girls a bit more equal billing from here on out. (Although I am sure Ella would not appreciate this blog if she fully understood its existence.)

So the marathon, it is over. And, of course, I'm thinking about what comes next. But I'm also thinking back to September 2007, when we hired a nanny who was training for a half-marathon. I remember at the time saying something along the lines of "Oh, I could never run that far." Which is funny in retrospect as 2008 marked the year of my first 10-miler and my first half-marathon. 2009 was the Lakefront 10-miler (again) and two half-marathons. And 2010 was the year of the Chicago Marathon. So what's next? Don't worry. I've made a list!

1. Speed training, speed training, speed training. It is *long* past time to incorporate some serious speed training into my running.
2. Autumn trail runs. I've wanted to try trail running for a few months now but hated to tempt fate by running trails and breaking my ankle right before the marathon.
3. Losing 15 pounds. Mostly because lighter = faster.
4. Maybe a November 15K (pending) or a 5K somewhere.
5. Lakefront 10 in April 2011, with a time in the 1:40s (2009's time was 1:53).
6. Either Oak Brook or Chicago Half-Marathon in September 2011, with a time in the 2:10s (2009's PR was 2:29).
7. Chicago Marathon 2011, with a pie-in-the-sky time of under five hours (hey, it could happen!)--probably running with ADOPT as my charity again.
8. And, of course, hopefully remaining uninjured through all of that!!

I went for my first post-marathon run today--just two quick miles. Barely enough to require a shower afterward. It felt great. Hopefully I'll be able to get six miles in this weekend and shoot for a running schedule that hovers around 25 MPW until I'm actively training for something again.

In the meantime, I am realizing that it wasn't necessary to invest $100 in Chicago Marathon 2010 gear (because, as I reasoned to the husband, it's not socially acceptable to wear the medal out in public!) because the girls have pretty much announced the news to everyone they meet. At dance class on Tuesday, I arrived for pick up to hear the teacher yell, "Which one of you is the one who ran the marathon on Sunday?" Called a mom for a playdate on Wednesday only to have her ask about the marathon (haven't seen this mom in weeks, so I was totally caught off guard). This is probably as close to celebrity status as I'll get. Ever.

I'm going to enjoy my neighbors' misguided perception of me as the active, fit mom who has everything together: Works full-time and runs marathons for fun! It will be our little secret, dear blog reader, what a mess I actually am!