Another Marathon? ..... Maybe....

For those of you that follow me on Dailymile, or have looked at my Dailymile widget, you might have noticed I have put in some long runs these past couple of weekends. Why you may ask? First, because I really enjoy long runs. There is no better feeling to me then waking up and going out for a 10 miler. Two-three years ago I would have never thought that this would be possible. I do it because I can.

The second reason I'm doing these long runs, is that I'm toying with the idea of another marathon. An October marathon to be precise. I'm not one to sit still for long, but one rainy day a couple of weeks ago, I sat at the computer and started looking at upcoming races. I jotted down a couple local 5ks and 10ks that I want to run, then I started looking at the 3 October marathons. I'm looking at the dates and I'm looking at the 18 week training plan that I followed when I did my first marathon. I'm going through my calendar, counting back the weeks, calculating dates, seeing where I am in my long runs..... I'm basically trying to convince myself to run one. So, I decided feel it out by running some long runs. I started out with an 8 miler 4 weeks ago. Then I did the 10 mile trail race the week after. Last weekend, I ran a 14 miler. This weekend, I set out to run 15 miles. I have most of my runs mapped out in my head, so basically know if I want to run a 5 miler or a 10 miler, I know what route to take. I thought I knew a 15 mile route, but at about mile 10, I realized that I was actually 7 miles from my house. That kinda hurt but I figured that would do 15 plus then maybe walked the rest of the way. But when 15 came up, I actually felt pretty good. So I kept going. I tried to cut the run short by going down side streets, but it was mostly a straight shot home.

I'm giving myself another week, another long run, then I'll decide. I just want to see how my body handles these runs. My left knee aches a bit during these runs, which worries me. So there is a lot of icing it. We'll see how it goes.
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I had to travel for work this week, so there was no swimming or biking. But I did manage to get a run in mid-week. Thanks for the swimming advice on my last post. I have talked to my friend and coworker Ernie, who has done a couple Triathlons and he is willing to give me a few swimming lessons. We just need to schedule something. So that is really cool.
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