Lately, I've been thinking about what fitness goals or activities I want to focus on after the marathon is over. Since I'll be doing less running, and it will be getting colder outside anyway, I want to devote some of my Saturday mornings to trying out some of the group fitness classes at NIFS. I rarely make use of my free membership there, simply because it's out of the way, and I can get all of my exercise in at work. This would be one good way to mix it up so that I don't fall into that holiday/cold-weather/post-marathon slump and challenge my body in other ways besides running. Chad and I also have a Groupon for Climb Time that we've been waiting to use. I've never done rock climbing before, but have wanted to for the past couple years. Now I'll have more time on my hands to finally get that in.
Once spring rolls around with nicer weather and my joints have had a few months to recover from long-distance running, I would like to start back up on half-marathons. One obvious goal, as I mentioned in the last post, would be to increase my speed. But, another thing I would like to do is start traveling for other races besides the ones in Indy. I'm even debating on whether or not I want to do the Mini this year. After 3 times, the course becomes a little boring. The main reason I would do it is simply because if you don't, you feel like the only one in the world who isn't! Everyone at work will be training for it and talking about it. If races were free, I would do several, but paying $60 each time can add up!
Here's my new on-going list of half-marathons I would like to try in the next few years (I know the links don't actually work here...technical problems with Blogspot...but just copy and paste into your browser if you want to check any of these out).
1. Geist Half Marathon: I know it's still in Indy, but at least it's a different scenery than downtown. I've heard the course is hilly, so probably pretty similar to the terrain at Ft. Ben. www.GeistHalf.com
2. 13.1 Chicago: I would do any of the Chicago half-marathons since it wouldn't be too much travel time, and that's always a fun city to visit! www.131Chicago.com
3. Go! St. Louis Marathon Relay: I actually almost did this race a couple years ago before part of our group had a conflict with the date. I think it would be a blast to get a group of people to do this race and then spend the rest of the weekend exploring St. Louis--a city I've never been to. www.gostlouis.com
4. Disney's Princess Half Marathon: What girl/woman doesn't have a favorite Disney princess?! (Mine would be Belle, partly because that's what my younger brother called me when he wasn't old enough to say Mechelle!) This race would obviously take some more detailed planning and some vacation days, but I would love to do it once. It's also way more pricey than normal races--the early bird rate is $130 and it goes up from there. The start/finish line is at Epcot. It takes place in February, so the Florida weather wouldn't be hot enough to be a concern. http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/princess-half-marathon/
5. Kentucky Derby Festival Half Marathon. Having been born and raised in Kentucky until we moved to Indiana when I was 14, I've always held the Bluegrass State near and dear to my heart. Most of my family still lives in that state. I've always wanted to go to the Derby, so perhaps I could make a couple trips to run this race the last weekend in April, then return the first weekend in May for the actual Derby. I suppose that means I need to find a big, gaudy hat first.... http://www.derbyfestivalmarathon.com/
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