Before the Marine Corps Marathon last October, I swore I’d never run another one. Training took a huge toll on our family and on my mind(surprisingly, my body held up quite well). I felt like I spent every moment of my free time running. I leaned heavily on my parents to watch the kids when I went to visit and Beer Geek took two days off work so that I could do my 20 mile runs without taking over the whole weekend. I spent a ton of money on babysitters so that I could get the longer midweek run in without conflicting with soccer or our normal evening routine.
As I crossed the finish line, I said to myself “I never have to do this again.” A few days later, I promised Beer Geek I wouldn’t run another one until Shoo was in school. I also knew I didn’t want to do another fall marathon as I HATED doing long runs in the Virginia heat. I’d much rather run in freezing cold or snow than in hot humid weather.
In September, Shoo starts a three day a week program. He’ll be at school for about four hours a day on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Beer Geek and I have agreed that the next two years are my “reward” years for surviving five years of minimal time to myself (really, 7.5 years, but I occasionally took mental health days back when I had a job). I get two years with a decent chunk of time each week to do whatever I want to do. Once Shoo starts kindergarten, I’ll need to think about some kind of paid employment.
So, what is it I want to do? I’m not sure. I’ve made some commitments to both boys’ schools. I have 1001 projects to do around the house. I’ve considered volunteering at a library to begin to bring my skills back up to date. I’ve also considered taking a few classes to make up for 5 years of being out of my career field, but I’m not sure I want to go back to what I did in the past (managing the technical services (cataloging, purchasing, electronic services contracts) for a large library) or if I want to find a library position that is more flexible/kid friendly.
Anyways, the big question is where does another marathon fit in. I figured out that I could do my long runs on Tuesday, do a hill workout Wednesday when Beer Geek gets home, do a shorter long run on Friday, and then do speedwork on Sunday. That would leave Thursday free to do the 1245987 things I need to get done.
Add in the fact that I haven’t found a marathon that I really WANT to do and I’m sitting over here going “eh?”
I ran an impromptu tempo run today. It started off crappy because I was in a mood and apparently need to stop running in the shoes I had on. After a 9:36 first mile (which was fine, I was going for easy), I ended up doing an 8:57 second mile without noticing until Garmin beeped. I decided to push a little bit for mile 3 (8:35) and then slow it down for mile 4 (9:18). All in all, it was a nice run that helped pull me out of my funk.
Now if I could just figure out what I want to be when I grow up…
When you figure it out, please let me know. I still have NO clue…and no kids either. You don't HAVE to do another marathon if nothing is hitting you right. Look for a kick ass place where you can do some halfs that include a fun travel locale!
I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up…
Just follow your passion, and it will all work out. Great job on the tempo run. Maybe come to Ontario and run a marathon. I am running the Hamilton road to Hope in Novemeber, its a great course!
LOL….I am still trying to figure it out too.I am trying the marathon/family balance thing right now and it is HARD. My poor hubby is with the kiddos all the time and my training gets cut off a lot. I think I am going to be done with then until Diva is a bit older and in school. Good luck with whatever you decide…Grandma's in Duluth is a GREAT race in June.
There are 3 good winter marathons here in FL: Disney, Miami, and A1A. Disney and Miami are in January and A1A is in Feb. The timing of those might work well since you could do the bulk of your training in the fall/early winter in DC.Maybe if you did Disney, it could be a fun family vacay as well! BUt it would have to be for 2011, because I'm pretty certain it's already sold out.Otherwise, if you want to stick to the DC area, why not the Sun Trust National Marathon in March? Or is it early April? Either way, that could be good winter training as well.
Oooh, some tough decisions to make! Whatever you decide to do, enjoy these couple of years for YOU!
things will come together, but very exciting! i bet many say they'll never run another marathon, but change their mind 🙂 Sounds like you'll have some great changes ahead!
I hear you about having no idea what to do when you grow up. If you find some inspiration, please let us know:-)As for thinking about a marathon and being concerned about training time committments, my husband did all of his marathons with a long run maxing out at 13 miles. I think the training programs that include 18, 20, 22 mile days are really trying to boost runners confidence (but you should have that with your previous MCM). Now you know what mile 18 is like!In fact I have heard of a few folks doing marathons with just over 10 miles as their long training run and <25 mile weeks. As for good marathons I can easily recommend from personal experience: Richmond (mid-Nov), Disney (Jan), as well as Harrisburg (early-Nov). I have heard good things about the North Central Trails in MD, but I never have run it. Good luck!
You're a librarian?How lame!
I'll definitely be marathon training while Julia is in preschool Monday – Thursday and volunteering at the big kids' school on Fridays. It's doable! Good luck finding one you want to do!
I still don't know what to do either. We might end up having T2 in the school district's preschool in the fall, which would be FULL day, FIVE days a week. Everyone says she's ready, but I'm not :(I'm trying to console myself with all the lovely running I can do with my time. And I hear you – I hate training for fall marathons because of the heat.
Good luck finding out what you want to do. I am having the same issues.
Can Beer Geek talk to my hubby? My son goes into kindergarten and my daughter is now in preschool. My hubby thinks that now is time for me to go back to work. Unfortunately, to make the kind of money I made before I stayed home, I would have to work crazy hours again. I really want to volunteer in the classroom etc. I am hoping that the coaching thing can make enough money to appease him.Good luck figuring out what you want to do.