The last three days I've tapered off my running although still keeping up with the miles to make sure that tomorrow's Peachtree 10K gives me more than 30 miles for the week.
After tomorrow, it's a kind of "what's next?" sort of thing. I easily hit 30 miles a week now, sometimes more, and it wouldn't be too hard to imagine me getting in 40, which is the minimum marathon guides say is necessary to start training for a marathon.
After I ran Portland in 2000, I told myself that I would never do another one. But that was because my base miles were poor, although I put the time in to gradually do longer and longer runs along Portland's Wildwood Trail until I could do 22 with no problem.
I'm a lot more disciplined now. I could probably do another marathon.
Problem is, I didn't realize how much planning is needed. I've always wanted to run in the Chicago Marathon. This year it will be on Oct. 11, which is the day the Atlanta Falcons are away playing San Francisco (I'm a season ticket holder).
Only problem with that is that the 45,000-person registration already is closed. I could gain entry by volunteering to raise $1,500 with a Chicago charity. That could be possible but I would have to think about that.
I looked up races in December -- the Honolulu Marathon and the Las Vegas Marathon -- both are during weeks in which the Falcons play home games, so I'm not likely to want to run then.
It's so tricky though, I feel you never know from year to year whether your training will be good enough to even attempt running a 26.2-mile race. I know I can do it this year because I've been pretty well-focused and ready and, knock on wood, injury-free.
Next year, who knows?
One of my other options could be running in The Weather Channel Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving Day. The course is pretty brutal, an out-and-back route from Turner Field up to Peachtree and to Chamblee, follwing the 1996 Olympic Marathon route.
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