Everyone I know has been asking me “what’s next?” since Boston. I was smart and planned trips all over this month to get distracted and get some rest, but the bug is there…

A sub-four Marathon, done. BQ, done. Boston, done. So, really, now what? My answer last week was that I felt like I could climb the Everest… ah the runner’s high! But I didn’t really think that much ahead goals-wise. I have a pikermi in three weeks and a bunch of smaller races in the next months, but no big challenge to obsess about for months. And I don’t seem to need one right now.

Since last week I’ve been wondering what would I be able to do in a flat course. Would I be able to shave five minutes off my marathon time? Ten minutes? But I think it can be a slippery slope if I start worrying about all the factors that make up a finish time. Whether it’s a hilly course, a crowded race, shoes, wind, rain, cold, hot weather, nutrition, the legs, the lungs, injuries, weight, music… the “what ifs”  list could go on forever… And I think I’ve reached a point where knowing I did my best is all I need. Is accruing PRs enough of a goal for me? Doesn’t seem like it anymore. Do I feel I need to go back to Boston and race harder/faster? No. Do I even need a goal right now? I am feeling that all that goal pressure makes it easy for me to lose perspective.

“No alibis”. Just like Roger Bannister would say. I promise I will do my best given the circumstances. And I’ll be happy with it.

Once I realized the PRs were not what I was looking for, I got super excited and I decided I wanted to do a trail marathon next, in a few weeks, and an ultra soon thereafter. Why so soon? As Meb said right before Boston: “I’ve got momentum”. And I need to find a way to keep feeling this way!

Yeah, still riding the high!