Congratulations!
Whether you realize it or not, you have inspired people with your commitment to you marathon goal!
What’s next for you? We hope your commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle is just beginning.
First, you get to rest for a bit. By Wednesday or Thursday, you can start with light, easy running–about 1-3 miles. Walking and stretching are great too. You can gradually increase the amount of miles you run as the days go by. Generally speaking, your body needs one day for every mile you ran for recovery. Feeling a little sad that it’s over? You don’t have to hang up your workout shoes yet! Some suggestions to keep exercising include: run a certain amount of miles each week, run a designated number of days per week, cross-train more, train for another race, etc. Check out shadowchase.org-we always have upcoming events posted there. You don’t have to hurry to train for a full marathon again. Consider other distances. Think about trail running (a group of us go often!). Or, just go out and run for fun, you certainly don’t have to sign up for a race to have a reason to run. Consider volunteering at an upcoming race. You experienced, first hand, the value of volunteers at the Modesto Marathon. It helps to set some goals so that you have a reason to maintain your current level of commitment and fitness. Everyone’s goals vary. Your volunteering will also look good on a resume application that you can assemble using websites like https://www.arcresumes.com/local/new-york/, just in case you need that extra boost when applying for certain jobs.
Ongoing– Every Tuesday: There is always a Shadowchase group at the track every Tuesday night. The workout is posted weekly on the yahoo group. (Join the yahoo group!). You don’t need to be intimidated by the “fast” runners. Do what you can on the track. A weekly speed workout is beneficial for you and your continued progress.
Every Sunday: Runners and walkers meet at Save Mart (corner of Oakdale and Scenic in Modesto) at 8am. We run in the park and meet afterwards for coffee. These informal meetings are informative, fun, and you can ask questions too. You’re sure to meet some new friends in the group too. Look in your Shadowchase monthly newsletter. There are groups that meet at 5am at Mr. T’s in Modesto and at Starbucks in Escalon. Remain in touch with your new running friends and plan runs together. We have a run of the month in various locations, all info is in the newsletter.
Finally, we hope that you’ll join us again for our next Modesto Marathon Training group this fall. Choose a different race or do the same distance and work toward a specific goal time. Encourage a friend to join you and impart all of your new found knowledge on them; mentor a buddy! We are working on a celebration to acknowledge your amazing efforts. More info to follow on this event. Even though the “official training” is over, you’re part of a world class running club now, and any of us welcome your questions and would love to continue to support you. So, it’s never over! Please email anytime. And, I’ll look for you out there. It’s been a pleasure to join you on this part of your journey. Susan
P.S. I have attached the instructions for getting connected with the ShadowChase Yahoo group. It’s for members only and people post questions, comments, info about new products, upcoming runs, etc. etc. Please join if you haven’t already.