When can I run?

The year started off with great anticipation and motivation to get back in shape and run more.  Then work happened.  Then poor weather happened.  Then Run Disney Marathon week happened and all my excuses have been shoved out the door.  I got in a couple of runs and a walk with a friend.  I made it a goal to drop the added weight I gained over the past year and stick to the method of how I lost it last time, drinking more water and getting off my butt.

I lost my motivation as I wasn't planning on running events.  To cut back on expenses and save some money, I didn't sign up for local races or Disney's main event.  Over the past year by running the races, I lost the fun of just getting outside and running, sweating and losing the weight years of inactivity brought.  I was running to be consistent for the next race instead of improving my abilities.  I wasn't running for me, but for the 'bling' and the destination.  If I didn't have an upcoming event, I wouldn't be as concerned about missing a training day.   Well, I have decided to get back in action.  That didn't mean I wasn't going to join others in organized events, it just means I needed to re-focus why I enjoyed the running that led me to enter the events.

In doing so, I've committed to a few upcoming events that posted early registration entries for over half off. (We the runners on July 4th, Jeff Galloway 13.1). In the next couple of weeks, I'll be running a local Half-marathon, Locomotive Half, that I ran last year after Dopey Challenge.  I noticed in each of my last long running events after Dopey, I was getting slower and not trying as hard.  I'm recommitting to not just easy go it, but give it my best efforts to improve.  I made a list of races I wanted to join and decided to make a goal of running Dopey again, knowing that to avoid injury and to actually enjoy it next year, I had to improve from where I am now.  I have to lose the weight and get my endurance back.  By committing to the races and going back to the beginning, I hope to make it a permanent lifestyle change.

The key to this whole decision, will be consistency and not giving up when roadblocks come along.  Thank you to my My Fitness Pal friends who have been keeping me in check and encouraging me to keep going!