The Second Time Around...Maybe

Happy weekend!  It's been a good but busy week and Saturday.  I, once again, met the majority of workout goals (5 days per week, 3 work mornings and 2 work evenings; I only missed one evening workout but I'm cool with that):

Sunday:  Ripped in 30, level 3 (30 mins) + 20 mins elliptical
Monday:  Travel for work (i.e. "rest")
Tuesday:  AM - 39 min run
Wednesday:  AM - Shed and Shred Levels 1&2 (cut slightly short due to lack of time; 65 mins); PM - Ripped in 30, level 4 (30 mins) - FYI this combo made my thigh muscles twitch for 2 days!
Thursday:  Rest
Friday:  AM - 43 min run/walk (mostly walk)
Saturday:  8.2 miles (91 mins; broken into 6 miles running, 2.2 miles walking)
5.8 hours working out total this week

What I realized this week is that I really, really, reeaaaalllly miss my half marathon training.  I miss the focus on something other than work craziness.  I miss working towards something challenging in my personal life.  I miss being that athletic and fit.  I miss that time to myself when I'm outside doing something productive.

Now, I am only 2 weeks into my new job and all signs point to things getting very, very busy come mid-August or so.  So am I crazy to think about doing another half marathon on September 23rd?  Probably. 

I have been worried about spending the money, especially since I'll likely need new shoes again in the near future.  But, I've decided not to join a gym in my new town and I justify the cost that I would spend on a bigger race based on the fact that I don't really have any other money-costing hobbies right now.

I've also been looking at my weight fluctuations.  I have been bouncing around with the same 5 pounds or so for the past 2 months and I'm sick of it.  With what I lost this week, I am only 12 pounds away from a healthy weight for my height and I am at a point where I need to kick my butt back into gear.  I am thisclose and I seem to have lost some of my steam. 

For comparison purposes, I lost 22.8 pounds during the four months of training for the GB Half (5.7 pounds/month average) and have lost 5 pounds in the last two months (2.5 pounds/month).  Yes, I lose slow and yes, this type of training is more intense than what most people probably want to do.  I enjoy it (otherwise, I wouldn't do it).  I'm not worried about meeting my weight loss goals during this training and I don't think it will happen but I do need a kick in the butt to get my calorie burn up a little higher.

So, am I going to do it?  Maybe and most likely.  I plan to train as though I am going to complete the half in September but I am going to wait to spend the money on signing up until I know for sure I can get my body into shape in 9-ish weeks.  I completed 8.2 miles this morning and feel very good today so maybe I'm not as out of running/walking shape as I thought I was!  The jump from 8 to 13 is a big one though! 

There are several things that I will be doing differently this time around, including:

1. Being smarter about my nutritional choices
2. Being smarter about hydration - I dehydrated (and thus got very sick) a couple of times during my last training.  I would think I would be fine but really, I was not.  Water, water, water!
3. Much more cross training - I can easily bust out 30-35 miles per week but it results in overuse pain in my right foot, a loss of upper body strength, and major workout burn out.
4. Including running into training - I will not be running the entire half as my knees would never go for it but I would like to include more running as long as I am enjoying it.  If I stop enjoying it, I will walk.  No shame in walking the race! :)  BTW - I have been finding that running is much easier than walking at a clip of ~4.7 or higher for longer distances.  I have yet to figure out why this is.
5. Never training (specifically running) two days in a row.  This wasn't as big of a deal when I walked but my joints cannot handle intense running two days in a row.  This also forces #3 to happen.
6. I will not be setting any time goals - I might wear a watch during training runs but I am not going to be putting an emphasis on time.  I will be wearing a watch during morning runs as I need to be sure I get to work on time!  Why am I doing this?  I care less about being super speedy than I do about being healthy.  Being worried about time takes the fun out of it.
7. Less training time - 4 months vs 2 months, enough said
8. Listening to my body - if I start burning out between training and work, I will pull the plan and go back to basics and not run the race.  No big deal.  The goal is to be healthy not put so much stress on myself that I start faltering in other areas of my life.

So, here we go again.  We'll see how this goes!