2013 Racing Thoughts

In my head I have been debating about what 2013 should look like in terms of racing.  How quickly will my body bounce back?  How long will it take to get my speed back?  Will I even want to race?  Will I have time to train?  I'm hoping the answer is....I'll be back to running in a few weeks, have my body bounce back really quickly, and back to being fast and racing in no time.

So then the question becomes are there specific races and distances I want to target?  That's a toughy.  I do know that I do not want to do any triathlons.  I don't know if I'll ever do triathlon again, frankly.  Since I've started swimming again, I'd really like to try my hand at aquathlon.  There were two here in Central Ohio last year and they seemed to be pretty successful, but the racing company that put these races on has yet to publish their 2013 schedule.  If they have them and if they go well, I might go and do the aquathlon age group nationals.  Next year they are in North Carolina and that is within driving distance.

As far as running, yeah, I have no idea.  Part of me wants to finish what I started this year and train hard for a fast marathon.  I can't do the one I was planning on for 2012, Air Force Marathon, because I already have a vacation scheduled during that time.  I was using this marathon to qualify for the  Boston Marathon.  This marathon fell right in between the first and second week of registration for Boston.  If I want to qualify for Boston I am going to need to find a race prior to September.  With the baby being born in April, I'm just not sure that is realistic.  I would really like to run the Columbus Marathon again,  but it's after the Chicago Marathon so not likely it will still qualify me for the next Boston Marathon.  I don't know; I'm keeping my options only.  I have also thought about doing an ultra (50K).  Woah!  There was one recently here in Columbus that had 60% of it on roads or paved trails.  I am totally a road runner, so this one I find interesting and I wouldn't have to travel for it.  Plus it was the first week of November so I could run a fall marathon and still do the ultra.

But, I hear you can get really fast after giving birth as you've got all those natural hormones and I'm wondering if I should just focus on shorter races and try to see how fast I can get.  I have to admit, I'm pretty content with what I've accomplished in the marathon and if I don't do another one, I think I'm okay with that.  The training takes a lot out of you and you put all your eggs in one basket and I've just found a lot of fun in the shorter races and racing more frequently.  Being a runner is more than just doing marathons.  You can still be a kick-ass runner and not do marathons (a la, Steve Stenzel).

Of course, I am not going to decide anything or pay for any races until after baby comes.  I'm just dreaming as I get bigger and bigger and slower and slower.  ;)