More of the same… hopefully
Last week I started running in the afternoons to change things up and came to the conclusion that I wasn’t really a fan of it. I don’t like the slow start in the morning, I don’t like feeling rushed to get home so I can get my run in and still spend time with my family, etc, etc.
With that in mind, I’d planned to get back to my early morning running ways this week, however, this morning I woke up with a very sore throat. After breakfast and the commute to work, it seems to feel better (mostly), so I’m hoping I can get my 4 mile run in this evening. More than just getting the run in later today, I’m hoping I’m not coming down with something. Now is really not the time I need to get derailed, or have a reason to feel derailed. There’s redundancy built into this running program, so I don’t think a mild illness would be tragic enough to knock me out of the half marathon if I didn’t allow it to, but it would certainly make things more challenging, both psychologically and physically.
What’s not going to more of the same is the eating and drinking habits I’ve been letting slip back into the routine over the last couple of weeks. Most of it was very calculated and intentional. I wanted to get it out of my system so I could go back to work when it was time. It is time. My weight has been pretty steady the last couple of weeks, not because of lack of exercise, but because I’ve been lenient on food and drink choices. I’ve allowed myself a few beers on the weekend, or an extra helping at dinner, all of which I think is ok. Or, to be more precise, it WAS ok, but now it’s time to get back the intensity of the last 4 months and finish this thing. I know, it’s never really finished, but I have a goal weight and a goal pace in mind for this November half marathon. I don’t think I can achieve one without the other, and I’m more inclined to give up the creature comforts to get them than I am to give it a half-ass effort because I wasn’t giving my body the support it needed.
What that means is I’m cutting out all forms of alcohol for a couple of months and will be getting back to watching my portion sizes when it comes to dinner. On that front, for the most part, it hasn’t been bad food choices as much as just consuming too much food. This running stuff makes one very hungry, though I think I’ve been over compensating just a touch :)