The Road Ahead
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| Bruce Freeman Bike Trail |
Wow, its been almost 5 months since my last post! I've notice that my travel and fitness posts seems to attract more interest than my restaurant reviews so for the next few months, I'll focus on that.
This year, my running has been less consistent and sporadic. I ran a few races but I definitely want to train for the Smuttynose Half Marathon in October and not half ass it which is exactly 12 weeks away from today!
For the next 12 weeks, my overzealous goal is to run consistently (at least 2-3 times a week), eat more mindfully and layoff the booze. To keep me on track, I'm going to use this blog as a tool to help me towards my goal. I'd like to build endurance, get faster and lose a few pounds as I train for the big day.
Besides fueling my body with the proper nutrition, the other hard part of my component would be figuring out my training schedule. Sure, the intention is to follow the Hal Higdon Novice 1 Half Marathon Program but I also want to continue with Orangetheory and Xtend Barre classes. I also don't want to burn myself out with all of the above so I need to find a nice balance that is challenging but manageable.
With that being said, day 1 of training started off as a failure.
I had too many glasses of wine the night before. I overslept and woke up at 10 AM. I missed my weekend barre & OTF classes and I had just a couple of hours to go food shopping, buy a gift and get ready for a bday party.Once at the party, my "breakfast" consisted off the residual M&M's that didn't fit in the centerpiece jar and a lunch consisting of nachos, fried eggrolls and wings and since it was open bar, the day drinking started at 1 PM.
That continued on to more chicken wings, sangria and empanadas poolside at the Wilshire Farm, the beautiful home of Kim & Jenn where we hung out and enjoyed a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
Once I got home, I decided, Why not keep the momentum going? I texted my friend to come over and hang out but her response took me by surprise. She replied, "Sure, but let's go for a quick run"
I didn't know what to say, I couldn't have said I was busy since I had just asked her to come over. I thought, well, what do I have to lose? It's only going to be a QUICK run, plus I could just take it easy.
I realized I left my running sneakers at work so I threw on a pair I've never worn before, chugged some Gatorade and changed before she got to my house to grab me.
Once we got to Bruce Freeman trail head (the Chelmsford location), I was welcomed by the tantalizing pizza aroma from the Brickyard. Not to mention, it was a beautiful day out so al fresco drinking and dining was at its peak. It took everything out of me to not just go join everyone else but we were on a mission, we were just going to jog 30 mins.
Of course we took a selfie at the beginning when we still look put together.
The first few minutes is always the hardest as I tried to get my breathing under control. Despite it being 85 degrees, it didn't feel hot. The trees on the trail provide good shade and it wasn't humid either. My Runkeeper app reminded me that I started off faster than I normally would have. Once we got going, I told my friend to leave me (She's a much better runner than I am).
I ended up running 3 miles in 35 minutes. I felt good. It wasn't my best time or run but I'm glad Ouk got me to go out and complete my first day of training. Sure it would have been better if I was mentally and physically prepared but it was a great "on the whim" run.
Thank you Ouk!
1st day complete.
Feeling Accomplished