Zoom-zoom: life after the Marathon (Read 516 times)

This is an answer - sort of - to a remark zoom-zoom made about other races and how they may not be so interesting anymore once you have run a Marathon... Today I ran my first race after my first Marathon of four weeks ago. It was a 15k through beuatiful scenery around Nijmegen, in the east of the Netherlands. Sunny weather, a liitle breeze that was only annoying if you went for the world record, which I didn't What I went for (and got) was a PR and a time below 1:15:00 (it was 1:14:17) so I was happy with that of course! But more importantly, I was happy with the difference I felt with how I ran before all my marathon training. I was faster and stronger. There is life after the marathon! Don't worry, zoomy bas

pretty much every runner i know that has come to running later in life (ie not at school/college) begins by working their way up the distances to marathon. each new distance brings a new challenge, sometimes - as with the marathon - a challenge that would have been unthinkably large at the start of the process. but - in my opinion it is a significantly harder challenge to try and get faster rather than just run further. don’t get me wrong, the marathon is a good goal and for most is a very achievable one - after all of the people who start the major marathons almost 100% finish. the drop out rate is tiny. for me the lure of trying to get faster at shorter distances is about the unknown. if i tried to run a marathon i know that i could. but trying to run a sub 20 minute 5k? i have no idea if i’m capable of it or not. i don’t know where the limits of my ability lie and training to get faster allows me to find that out. interestingly having set my sights on getting faster my interest in the marathon has faded. gone pretty much completely in fact. so yes there is life after the marathon - you just have to choose your next challenge.

My gal friend and I finished our first marathon and couldn't wait to set some speed goals for next year. 5K and 10K and HM speed increases. Can't wait! The marathon helped my legs go the distance and now they are ready to work harder.