I have no other pictures for this post other than showing you that I did do a quick little tread run this week.

It occurred to me, as I panicked a bit about how I would fill these posts over the next month and a half, that this is the first weekend in a very long time that I don’t have to run.

I began Chicago Marathon training in July, and then the past few weeks I kept the weekend runs going for the sake of the Boston Half, and now here we are.

I mentioned in yesterday’s To-Do List that there was a run I was thinking about joining Saturday morning, but I had gotten my flu and Covid shots on Friday and wasn’t sure if they would impact the run.

I slept pretty good Friday night, but wasn’t exactly 100% Saturday morning and figured I should skip the run. And that’s when I realized I do have that luxury, at least for the next month or so, depending on what’s next.

So what’s next? That’s what we’re here to discuss.

I have put my name in for the New York City Half, which takes place in March. I will find out whether that will happen this week…like any New York race, it is a long shot. But that’s OK. I’ll keep applying and maybe some day one of them will come through.

I also put my name in for the Chicago Marathon again, because I’ll always put my name in for the Chicago, New York, and London Marathon lotteries whenever they come up. (Maybe Berlin? But I think if I did travel internationally for a race it would have to be to an English-speaking country because I know my level of comfort…but maybe.)

The Chicago results come out in early December and last year’s results e-mail was so exciting but I can’t count on that happening again.

As for Boston? The run club doesn’t know how many bibs it’s getting yet, so it is uncertain when the drawing will be - either early or late December.

I have surpassed what I needed to qualify for a bib, so I’ll be waiting anxiously to find out if that happens.

That selection would lead right into training and become the main priority if it comes through.

Otherwise, I’m hoping to be a mentor runner for someone running with Team Framingham, which is how I ran my first two Boston Marathons.

That will be a fun way to spend the months leading up to April (and there will be plenty of runs with that team, which is why I felt I could relax on Saturday morning).

I will be running with my daughter this morning as we gear up to run a Thanksgiving morning race together here in Framingham.

There might be a couple of other 5Ks - one in early December and one on New Year’s Day - depending on how I’m feeling about getting out in the cold when those roll around.

I do like running better when I have something to train for and can feel like there’s a reason for me putting in the miles.

So if all of these bib lotteries come out ‘no’, I’ll re-evaluate in early January and figure out a calendar for the upcoming year.

I don’t think I want to tie myself into the Medley dates again this year - I’ll save that for another year in the future.

But it would be nice to do at least one half and one full again.

And even the planning of all of that will give me something to look forward to as well.