The first week after completing the marathon has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. In many ways, I am a Flying Pig that's had my wings clipped. The last few nibbles of my Congratulations/Nice Try cake hit the garbage days ago. My race clothes are washed, folded and put away, no longer reeking of 26.2 miles of funk. My bib and medal are carefully arranged on a shelf of mementos in my office. I'm trying so hard to hang onto that feeling I had when I crossed that finish line, but eight days later, it's already slipping away.
On the other hand, I am moving forward. This was the kind of weekend I had before I started training. I went to happy hour. I played flag football and spent the afternoon with my friends and endless buckets of beer at MLT's. I went to the Reds game Saturday night, and wallowed in the freedom of eating and drinking whatever I wanted without worrying about how my decisions would affect my running. All in all, my life is getting back to normal. But normal isn't enough for me anymore.
To conquer my blues, I'm formulating a plan. Meters & Miles starts up the training group again in June for those doing fall marathons. I'm thinking that I'll train to do a half marathon in October. Maybe Columbus or Indianapolis, or maybe even someplace more exotic? This summer, I'll be focusing on getting faster and stronger. I'm planning to hit the gym as hard as I was during the past 4 months, but try to keep a balance with my "normal" life. All that may change again come January, because in 355 days, I am planning on another date with the Pig. A lot of things can change in a year, so I don't think I'm ready to send in my $70 entry fee just yet, but it's a goal. It's clear and defined and it gives me a reason to want to get out of bed in the morning. I suspect the feeling I have crossing another finish line won't compare to how it felt the first time, but I'll chase it anyway.
I did short runs on the treadmill on Friday and Saturday. I have a nagging muscle strain in the back of my left hip, but it's getting looser with each run. Yesterday, I couldn't bear to run indoors with how nice the weather was, so I headed down to Pioneer Park in Fort Wright and did the 1-mile loop 4 times. It wasn't easy, but it felt great to just be out there running again. It gave me the sense that after a week of living in gloomville, that all will be right with the world as long as I can lace up my shoes and pound some pavement.
I guess my wings haven't been clipped after all; they just got misplaced for a few days.
2 comments:
You re such an inspiration to all of us, Gabby. You are a truly unique and special person. You re far too strong and motivated for those wings to feel clipped for long!
I agree, it was very inspirational reading about all the Pig Bloggers and their journey to the marathon.
I'm thinking of doing a half in the fall, too! Maybe Columbus or the one in Indianapolis that I THINK falls in November? I should join the Meters & Miles running group since I've never done a half before...is it expensive?
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