Do you ever feel lost after a big race or achieving a big goal?
No sooner did I cross the finish line at Big Sur did I receive a text from my coach Becky. "Send me your goals so I can work on a training plan for our upcoming sessions." Ok, it was the next day but still! I felt more anxious reading that than I did lining up for my race! Prior to Big Sur, I hadn't given my post-race plans much thought. After all, this was my lifetime running bucket list item, the race I always wanted to run. What kind of goal do you come up with after realizing a dream?
It's somewhat of a dilemma for this very goal-oriented runner.
So 2 1/2 weeks later after that text from Becky, I'm still thinking about my goals for the rest of the year. I'm feeling pretty tired after training for 2 marathons in 6 months. I don't know how you back to back marathoners do it! But I won't lie. I have to admit that I still have Boston on my mind. I'd love to run it to make my marathon total an even 5. That can't happen, though, because in order to qualify, I have to run another marathon! Unless someone takes pity on me and gives me a free, completely legit entry!
I may have to... |
Rock N Roll Chicago July 17. There aren't a lot of half marathons in Illinois or Wisconsin this time of year. It's usually as hot as hades in July in Chicago, which has kept this race off my list for a long time. But I need to work on my heat tolerance, and what better way to do that than to run a half in July? My friend Marcia is an ambassador, and I'd love to join her at this fun event. My goal for this race would be sub-2, which is something I've never done for a half in the summer or Florida.
Crystal Lake Half Marathon or Naperville Trails Half Marathon September 11. September and October offers a lot of choices for races around here. I had hoped to run the NorthFace Endurance Challenge half marathon in Kettle Moraine (Wisconsin) state park but the date doesn't work out for me. I'll make up my mind which race to run as the date approaches. If any of you local peeps are running either one of these, let me know.
Panama City Beach (Florida) half marathon December 3. Another destination race to add to my list, I'm going to run this race with a few blogging friends! This race offers me another opportunity to head back to the sugar sands of those Florida Gulf Coast beaches. It could be warm, though! No matter, though, this one's for fun.
While I filled her in on my running plans, Becky won't be training me for these races. Instead, I gave her some strength goals that I want to work on. She was pretty excited when I mentioned these:
- Handstand unassisted. Looking at all those handstands on IG is giving me major FOMO. I'm strong and I know I can do it. I just have to get over my fear of falling. The New York Times feels my pain, publishing this article about this phenomenon just last week! One woman quoted in the article said that being able to handstand has made her "more confident, fearless and focused". It's like they know what I'm looking for. Becky wants to take it one step further and have me do a handstand push up. Ummm, sure.
- Climbing the rope. Hanging from the ceiling at CrossFit is a long, thick rope. When I first started working with Becky, she had me try to climb up, but I lacked the strength and confidence, much less the skills. I'm ready to tackle that bad boy again.
- Pull ups/chin ups. Traditionally, women struggle to do even one pull up. We just don't have the upper body strength compared to our male counterparts. But with the help of my coach, I'm going to try to defeat that stereotype.
There's nothing earthshattering here. As much as I'd love to have another mind-blowing goal or dream to chase, going back to "normal" running and workouts feels good. Our goals don't always have to be big, right? They just have to be achievable. And fun. If it isn't fun, it isn't worth doing. That's always the goal.
Dilemma? I don't think so.
Have you ever had trouble setting goals after accomplishing a dream? Do you always feel that you have to set goals?
I'm linking up with DebRuns for Wednesday Word. This week's word is dilemma.