So, what's next?

Actually I was going to do a Rotorua Holiday post ... but my batteries in my camera just died. So, instead, the other thing that has been on my mind - what's next?

Ahhhh well, lots of plans. You can all roll around laughing (my friends who know me do, and then they say typical Lisa), but I sat down about a week before the Rotorua marathon and mapped out my training plan right up until 31st October - including recovering week, 4 weeks post marathon and finishing on 31st October with the AUCKLAND marathon!

I have that niggle that my first marathon was SO good, that maybe I shouldn't spoil it ... the next one might not be as easy ;) But I have to get over that and stay confident. I *think* I will aim for about a 5:50-6:00/km pace which works out to be 4:06-4:13 marathon, we'll see how the training goes before I set that in concrete and make it a true plan, but I will definitely start off with that time in mind.

Before that marathon though I will be running a couple of half marathons, the first being Christchurch :) Why Christchurch (which is only a few weeks away)? For years when I was shooting Queens Birthday Weekend was the big North Is v South Is shoot and I'd go away that weekend every year - with lots of small children (although not as many then, but small then) I loved that weekend away. Then when I stopped shooting I missed it for a couple of years, then when I started with Stampin' Up I went away over to Australia about this time of year for their Convention and had a bit of a holiday at the same time. Call me weird ... but I really like being alone, and that one weekend a year has always been a life saviour for me to recharge my batteries. So, I said to my husband the other day that for Mother's Day I'd really just like the okay to go away on Queens Birthday weekend by myself, for the first time ever he didn't seem that thrilled - but, um, hello darling, you work 6-7 days a week, you leave before we are awake and come home about 6-7pm, um, darling? What do you think I'm doing while you're at work - because it sure isn't sitting on my butt eating bon-bons! Anyway - of course, having this wee addiction to running now, I then looked up what races were around that weekend so I could decide where to go ... and Christchurch popped up. I love Christchurch and the pull of doing a "big" half marathon made it perfect. I booked my air tickets last night - just need to enter and book a motel and I'm away :)

I'm not planning on racing Christchurch too hard, its still only about a month after Rotorua and my next big, want to do well, race will be Wellington Harbour Half Marathon a few weeks after that.

So, that is my next big goal - the Wellington Half Marathon, this is the event that I won my big spot prize at last year :) I'd like to pick up speed for this one, I'm setting my sights high and want to aim for about 1:55 and for the next 7 weeks I'm going to work on a bit of speed and building up for that.

Very conveniently, after Wellington it is exactly 18weeks until Auckland ... so I can start marathon training straight after.

Also, over the next few months until the marathon training gets into the longer k's I'm going to go to the gym and work on building my core muscles and strengthening my body - have you seen the pictures of how I run? So stooped, I'm going to work on strengthening which I'm hoping will naturally fix that.

AND lastly, my original goal weight was 65kg ... to run really well, I should go to 60kg - I'm going to work on that as well :) (I'm only 5'3" so 60kg (132lb) isn't *that* light, just in case you think I've really gone off the deep end).

So that's it ... the next lot of long term goals :)

In the immediate future I have a 10km "race" on Sunday. At Pencarrow, I ran this last year and really liked the course. Cameron and the girls all want to run the 5km so we'll all go and do it, once again I'll be going by feel, not aiming to race - the last thing I want to do is over do it and end up injured when I have all these big dreams!