Post-race reflections

It's now been over a week since I ran the big race, and it's been a strange period.

I'd read a lot about how you have a post-marathon low and often you feel like you have a gap in your life. I didn't really notice it at first, because I was obviously on holiday anyway and out of my routine. I didn't have any gaps to fill because my days were full of holiday stuff. But I did manage to fit a couple of runs in post-marathon. The first one was on the Wednesday, in a small town in upstate New York. This run was short and far from sweet. My knees and fronts of my thighs were clearly unhappy to be hitting the road again so soon, but they did warm up and ease off a little after 20 minutes, so that helped.

The second run was far more glamorous, in that it involved running over the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday morning - you don't actually get to do this part of the city in the marathon, so it's quite nice to stick another icon in your running route catalogue. New Yorkers must get used to running it, but it's still quite awe-inspiring for me (even if the photo-taking tourists get in your way all the time).

Now I'm back in the UK, I am missing the marathon training as predicted. It took up so much time and involved so much scheduling that it seems to have left a huge gap in my calendar, which is in danger of being filled by work. So I need to make sure I install some sort of maintenance routine, so I keep my fitness ticking over for the next marathon year.

Yes, I really do want to do another one. For the last four weeks of training, I would tell anyone who asked me that I would never run another marathon, it is just too timeconsuming to do the training and I was sick of it.

But then I ran the marathon. And I am hooked.

I'd say the training was the hardest part, because the marathon itself was an adrenaline-fuelled, (literally) knee-jerking ride through a major international event. Just being part of the spectacle alone is addictive , but the fact that I enjoyed it and didn't feel wrecked afterwards means I just want to try it again. Most importantly, I want to see if I can beat my time - I am so self-competitive, it's embarrassing.

I'm going to have to pick my marathon carefully because I don't think it would be nearly as much fun running it in some wet, windy middle England city on a Sunday morning. I think I need another global event, another great atmosphere to keep me going. And if you want to stick a flat course with no potholes in there as well, that would be just lovely.

I'm not ruling out doing New York again. NY already has guaranteed entry and I entered the lottery this morning. They're unlikely to resurface the roads before November 7 next year, but at least I'll be prepared for it this time

Other candidates at the moment are Berlin or Chicago - both autumn marathons (and therefore summer training programmes) and both cheap and easy to enter. Will they be as much fun? Will Berliners shout 'lauf, Anne Marie' as much as the Americans shouted 'looking strong'? Will Chicago be too toddling for me?

I'll be back next year, to let you know

LON
xx