Back in the Swing of Things

I've been trying to get my running back on track recently after taking a break in the wake of the half marathon. I'd like to think that I've been doing a fairly decent job. I'm building back up to my average weekly distance, my pace hasn't really suffered, and I'm finding a decent sense of motivation again.

The past week has been better than I thought.

I'd love for my next goal to be another competitive half marathon...perhaps a full marathon before 2015. That would feel pretty awesome. Of course, speaking of running marathons it feels wrong to stay silent and pretend I didn't see the news about Boston. All of the shocking stories and invasive news reports and horrifying pictures say far more about that tragedy than I could ever want to say. But so too does the outpouring of love, goodwill, and support from decent human beings the world over...not just runners or Bostonians.

But running a marathon. That would feel amazing. Personally, I wish I could say I felt in good enough shape to do that distance just for fun. The insanely fit and inspiring Kim over at A Day With KT went and made an awesome attempt to run 43 miles on her last birthday: one mile for every year of her life! This birthday would put me at the marathon distance mark. How much do I want to say I did that...just for fun!? I may work back up to just over 13.1 and then slog through it for the sheer vanity of bragging rights. Nope; not above that in the least.

So what are my running goals for the rest of the year?
-Run the Grim Challenge again. That's been so much fun the last two times I did it that I can't imagine not trying to run the course a third time.

-Find another 5k or 10k to run in the meantime. Just a nice lighthearted race, even if I don't find another convenient half marathon. I really like racing...it's a sport that agrees with me.

-Try to get in on a good running club. That's the goal I didn't meet back in February. I really do want to try out what it's like to run as part of a club; just to see if it's for me.