When you’re training for a marathon, it feels like the hardest thing in the world. And it is hard, no question. You do a lot of long runs, you wonder why in the hell you’re doing this, and then the day comes and you run the marathon and you’re done and you think, “I just ran a marathon! Now what?”

That “Now what?” turns out to be the actual hardest thing. Because once you’ve reached that goal, there’s the inevitable letdown. Now what in the hell do I do?

In the months leading up to the marathon—April, May, and June—I ran 108, 135, and 116.7 miles. (Subtract 26.2 from June’s total for the actual training miles). In July, August, and September I ran 50, 50.5, and 53.5. That’s me slacking off a lot. I’ve gained about four pounds since the marathon, which isn’t too bad, but you have to nip that sort of thing in the bud quickly, before four turns into fifteen. (I have continued working out with weights, and I still weigh myself every morning, although I’m not as manic about it as I was a year ago.)

I looked at my 2009 mileage total and discovered that I need to run 23.2 miles a week from here on out to get to 1000 for the year. I’m currently at 764.7, in case anyone wants to check my math. I’ll be out of commission for at least one week (that I know of right now), so that 23.2 miles total bumps up to about 25 or 26.

26 miles a week from here to the end of December.

Hey, that’s like a goal. A goal gives me something to aim for. 26 miles a week. A long weekend run of 10-12, then two midweek runs of 6 and 8. If I ever do a longer run, I bank that many more miles toward 1000. (It doesn’t mean I get to slack off on planned runs. That way leads to sleeping in!)

Now I have a plan, an incentive to get my butt out the door and do some of those longer runs. I’m actually kind of excited about getting on the road again