Back to Basics

After my last post, everyone had a lot of great race suggestions. Thank you! They all sound like so much fun, it's hard to pick which ones to run. I have to admit that I'm kind of enjoying this pause in my schedule. Ever since I signed up for my first marathon, I've had at least one marathon on my schedule. This is the first time in over 2 years that I haven't been registered for a race. Once a big race is on the calendar, it eliminates so many other choices. Having just about every race as a possibility makes for fun daydreaming.

Even if I don't get into NYC Marathon 2010, I've made up my mind that I will do a fall marathon in 2010. Besides planning races between now and then, I have a few things I need to work on to get ready for marathon training next summer. Here are the big ones:

1. Strength training. I'm already strength training a couple times a week, but I need to train more specifically to my needs as a runner. My hope is that stronger legs in the spring will decrease the likelihood of injury next summer.
   
   
2. Improved flexibility. Touching my toes is not even a remote possibility for me. I'm lucky if I can touch below my knees. My stride is abnormally short and my back gets unbearably tight after a run. I've been practicing yoga once a week for the last 6 weeks and, although it's embarrassing, I think it's helping. I've also enlisted the help of a professional for some ART work and I am spending a lot of time each day stretching. Hopefully, devotion to becoming more flexible will keep injury and back pain away.
   
   
3. Better nutrition. Have I mentioned that I don't really cook? I am capable of heating, but not really cooking. I just don't have the patience or the know how. As a result, my whole family is not eating as nutritiously as we should. There have been many runs when I ran out of energy and I know that poor nutrition is to blame. Previous attempts to work on this area have failed miserably, so it's going to take some solid dedication to improve.

Of course, I also want to keep swimming, training on the bike, and roller skiing/cross country skiing throughout the winter. How am I going to have time to do all of this and keep the house clean, the children cared for, the husband happy and the pets alive? I haven't figured that part out yet!