What's Next?

Now that my marathon is past, and we are quickly approaching the new year, I thought it would be good to start thinking about my next big goal. (I always like to have goals!)

I'm working on my spring race schedule still, but I am really hoping to PR in the half marathon. I haven't ever integrated much speedwork into my training routine, so I plan to try to do at least a little bit of that. I'm looking forward to researching speed workouts -- is that weird?

My current half marathon PR was on a course with a couple long hills, so I think that if I can push myself I should be able to do pretty well on the flatness that's found in most of the races around Sacramento.

Two races that are definitely on my schedule are:

Davis Stampede (still deciding between10k or half marathon)
Shamrockin' Half Marathon

Still not sure what else, but most likely another half marathon or two, and possibly even a late spring marathon. Any suggestions of what I should do somewhere on the West Coast??

Some good reads about running just for fun:
The Golden Rules of 26.2: Steve Smythe describes some of his biggest takeaways from years of training and racing for a marathon. A good read --just thought you might all enjoy his tips as much as I did.
How to recover from a marathon: Lots of good tips. Paula Radcliffe says after a marathon, "I take a month off to recover, do yoga, and cross-train"
Oscar Pistorius races a Horse: Find out how he did! By the way, I think this guy is incredible.