Well, the half marathon is behind me. My mind was a steel trap, but my time came in the 2nd slowest I've ever had. Reasons - I didn't train barely at all. Also, the weather sucked. But it was great motivation to never have that experience again. And so, I press on.
I'm challenging myself to get back on track for my goals and realize all the things I posted on my dreamboard for this year. Some of my hopes? To finally lose the last of the weight I want to lose. To run my first full marathon in under 4:30. To get my body fat percentage in the teens. To finally get my healthy lifestyle all dialed in so I don't feel like such a student of my body every single day.
The challenge is simple (in theory. always, in theory. application is a bit more complicated).
Clean food. Always. Until goal. (and after too, but total diligence especially until).
Exercise. Lots of it but modified to be more on track with reaching my running goals and less about just having fun doing countless hours of random group cardio classes. This should help avoid the overtraining issue I've had recently as well.
I have a target date in mind for the weight loss piece. My fitness guru at the gym told me it's best to get any weight loss stuff out of the way prior to getting marathon training fully underway because I will need to eat more while training and that can be counterintuitive while dieting down. Also I guess the muscles can bulk up a little to prepare themselves for the endurance I will be asking of them.
TARGET DATE: APRIL 3 - the date of my next half marathon. If I'm lean I'm more likely to be fast. Also, after that date I'm in full-on marathon training mode so will be onto my next challenge, Operation 4:30.
TASK: Get to goal weight: I need to lose 27.5 pounds of fat. Somebody please report these findings to my backside. Perhaps it will get on board with my plan, but I doubt it. I'm expecting a fair fight. I intend to win this time, sucka!
DISCLAIMER: Now, I'm a realistic girl and realize that my goal as stated above would imply I plan to lose 1/2 a pound a day which is not realistic or altogether healthy. My real task is to STAY ON PLAN, no strays, until April 3 and see how far I can get. If I'm not at goal by April 3 it is certainly not a failure. I'm just trying to get my momentum back in the right direction!
SUPPORT: If you see me running water-buffalo style like I do down the street or sweating profusely while turning purple like Barney the Dinosaur whilst at the gym, please humor me and give me an encouraging word, will ya? If you see me eyeing something very dirty like a piece of cake or something fried, by all means, help a girl out by discouraging me, not encouraging me, okay?
Alright, so the countdown is on. It's on!
