Holy cow, how has it been a month since the Chicago Marathon?! It really feels like it last week, but that’s also because October was a doozy.

The good news is that I

1. finished
2. finished within the time limit
3. Set a PR for the marathon distance

The ‘meh’ news is that I am still much slower than I’d like to be and I’ve been hard on myself about it. It was rough to watch my predicted time keep getting higher and higher as the race went on (hard for it not to when I made, I kid you not, six bathroom stops.)

Granted, it was a rough day, as this California girl was not used to the ‘cold’ weather and my joints were frozen before the race even started. I was also really stupid and did way too much physical activity the weekend before. I agreed to help with catering for a large wedding 7 days before and ended up at the doctor’s office the next day, begging for ibuprofen. Turns out, moving furniture and lots of heavy objects the week before a marathon is a bad idea. Who knew?! It also turns out that while ibuprofen is magic for sore muscles, it does a number on my stomach.

I swore up and down at mile 4 (aka, bathroom stop #1 of the day) that I was never working out again. No running, no weight lifting, no swimming, no hiking. No working out beyond a gentle walk. I had it in my head that this was a ‘never again’ event. Every time I thought about running since the marathon, I had a negative reaction. Normally I can’t wait to get back to it? This time, the thought of even running for a mile was more than I could handle.

Honestly? It’s really only been the last week that I’ve felt ready to start running again. And I’m fine with taking it slow.

I’m not sure what the next race will be. I so badly want to run the LA Marathon, but it’s in 17.5 weeks and while that’s plenty of time to train, I’m just not sure my body is ready for another training cycle so soon. Especially with my mental recovery this time around. Not to mention, I would have to get serious about training in the winter. I mean, I live in Southern California and we don’t really get winter here, but like most people, I’m not really motivated when it’s dark all the time and ‘California cold.’

I’m 99% certain I will run the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon in May, and I will run the San Diego Rock n’ Roll (half or full, TBD) in June. I also, against my better judgement, threw my name in the Chicago Marathon lottery. I LOVE the Chicago Marathon and have no doubt I’ll run it again soon…but it’s expensive and traveling so far when you have so much on the line is stressful. If I had to drop out of a local marathon, NBD. But across the country? That’s a whole other deal. Plus, I’ve been to Chicago at least once a year for the last 4 years…there are so many other places I want to see and run in. I guess the lottery will ultimately decide for me next month.

Once I have an answer to that, I can plan the rest of my 2020 and 2021 races.

Until then, I’ll be slowly making my way back to the sport I love so much. I’m 97% sure I won’t be signing up for LA this year (but I’ve been known to be stupid and impulsive when it comes to races, so who knows.) But if I decide to play it smart, I’ll spend most of the next few months working on shorter runs and lifting the dreaded weights. And, you know, making my 34645343rd attempt at cleaning up my diet.