running, post-marathon style

Now that the marathon's over, I have to come up with some sort of running schedule. On one hand it's nice that I don't have to get runs in on certain days, at certain distances. On the other hand, it's strange that I don't have anything specific to do. I don't always have the motivation to go for a run and I feel lazy.

My first post-marathon run was on Thursday. I started out to run an easy 4-5 miles, but half a mile in I decided to make it a shorter, faster run. I've been thinking about running a 5k or two this fall, and wanted to gauge what my time would be like. It seems silly, but with all this slow endurance training, I've been so unaccustomed to fast running that a short little 5k seems intimidating. So, I picked up the pace and ended up hitting 5 kilometers at 26:44. Not too bad considering the very hilly terrain, and that the first half mile was at 10:00 pace. So, I'm a bit more confident that I could run an okay 5k race now.

If I want to run a few short races this fall, that means I get to come up with a schedule :D. Luckily I already have a pretty amazing base to work from. Here's what I'm thinking, off the top of my head:

Thursdays: Long run (probably only 7-10 miles, although I may find myself in the mood for longer runs)
Fridays: Cross train during Celia's nap, if I'm in the mood (bet this will never happen!)
Saturdays: Speedwork
Sundays: Easy short-mid distance run
Tuesdays: Mid-distance run, maybe with some fartlek thrown in

The fun part is that since I'm not spending hours and hours of time just getting mileage in, I can throw in new and different workouts whenever I feel like it. The only thing I'm scared of is losing all the fitness I've gained in the last five months. If I'm not running long distances, I want to challenge myself in other ways like by increasing speed and trying different types of workouts. So, let's see how this all goes!