Back on the training track, weather permitting

Hi, blog. Sorry we haven't spoken for a while but I've been kind of busy. First we had a blizzard that took me the better part of two days to clean up from. Then I started my new half marathon training program and got a day into it when we had another blizzard that took me another day to clean up from. I've been trying to run outside, but the piles of snow that go well into the road don't really make it all that possible. Or I'm too much of a wuss. One or the other. Anyway, I've gotten to know the treadmill pretty well.

My first workout of this training program was running an easy 3 miles and weights. I ran the easy three but considered hours of snow shoveling my weight workout. Then I did hill training on the treadmill, which was my one un-snow-obstructed day. Then I got snowed in for a day. Today I did the easy three again and considered hours of shoveling my weight workout again. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, but since I got snowed in yesterday it's going to be a 40 minute tempo run. I'm half expecting a surprise overnight blizzard just to make sure I stay off track.

In a previous post I mentioned that I needed to work off some holiday weight. I'm happy to say I've done that, losing 13 lbs. over the last several weeks by essentially just cutting out sweets and fried foods and halving the portion of my dinner time meal. Logging my chow and sticking to a set number of calories has also done me a world of good.

So, with some weight off I'm thinking it'd be a good idea to keep losing. I'm certain I can stand to lose another 10-15 lbs. and I'm convinced the only way I'll get any faster than I was two years ago is to lose weight. You can run all the hills and do all the speed work you want, but if you're packing some extra pounds you can't help but throw away whatever running potential you might have.

I don't know how close I'll get to my goal time of 1:50 for my upcoming half considering I've never run faster than 1:56:33, but I'm determined to give myself every opportunity to do it. And if that means giving up french fries until May that's what I'm going to do.

God help that bag of potatoes that gets chosen to make my french fries when I celebrate my half marathon PR though...

Just for giggles, here's what my steps looked like shortly before last weekend's blizzard ended:



And this is what they looked like last night after the newest blizzard ended (sorry for the low light... the iPhone's camera kinda sucks):



Wheee!