Plan of Action

There's no point in pretending, I have fallen off the training wagon ... again! I've had such a hard time motivating myself to run lately, despite the fact that I always feel so good after a nice workout. Instead of being something that I look forward to, it's just one other area where I feel like I'm falling short. I think part of it has to do with not getting together with my running club lately. My work schedule has conflicted with most of the group runs, but there have been nights where I just haven't gone. I was running well in the Spring when I was meeting up with the Hot Legs at least once a week - I think that I should really try to incorporate that into my running regimen.

Another thing that I've been pondering since moving back to Little Rock is getting back into cross training and back into tris. I had such a good thing going when I lived in Columbia and had the awesome university swimming pool and rec center at my disposal and areas to ride my bike right outside of my door. My travel nursing gigs have totally killed my cross training because of the constant moving and inability to get hooked up with a pool or a place to ride my bike where I feel safe. Now that I'm staying put, I really need to get back at it. I'd like to do some races in the Spring and I promised a friend of mine that I'd do a women's tri with her in Chicago next summer. I think that if I had a more rounded exercise plan, I'd be happier and more fit.

For the immediate future, I'm needing to find a goal to work on. I'm planning a half-marathon with BJ the first week of December, but since I've blown off most of my training thus far, I'm really not going to expect to PR or do anything exciting. I've learned the hard way that you can't "catch up" on your training and mileage - last time I did that I ended up with a sore IT band. So now I'm pondering a little more long term. The Little Rock Marathon is exactly 19 weeks from today, and my training plan is 20 weeks long. I wouldn't have to play catchup, I'd just be starting at week 2. I'm thinking that I need to just go for it and take it one week at a time. I just know that if I'm going to be serious, I need to put in my four runs a week and stop making excuses. Ever since I saw the big ass medals they hand out at this marathon (they're the largest in the world according to Runner's World), I knew that I had to have one. Since it's in my own back yard, I'd be silly to not take advantage of it. We'll check back in next week and see how my first week of honest training has gone.