A few years ago, I started participating in triathlons and running races as a way to counteract my grad school insanity. I was constantly training for something for almost three years straight. Then, writing and defending my thesis and moving across the country for a new job happened. It's been almost a year and a half since I've consistently trained for anything and although I miss feeling fit, racing, and the mental benefits that come with a consistent workout plan, I just have felt too burned out to set fitness goals or try to follow a training schedule. But now, living in Oregon, it's hard to not be inspired to be active. I see people running, biking and cross-country skiing (...yeah) past my apartment constantly. So despite my fears of running on Oregon hills, a few weeks ago I signed up for the Corvallis Half Marathon in April!
And like any good type A enginerd, the second I signed up I created my training plan in Excel.
I decided to mostly follow the same plan I did for my first two halfs, when I trained with a running group and just followed the plan the coach set up for us. Except I forgot that when I trained for those, I was already pretty in shape from tris and 5Ks. Since starting the plan, I have already seriously amended it to my current (non-existent) skill level. Every distance feels hard, and I've had to seriously dig for motivation and willpower just to get me out of the door. I've started to go back to listening to music while I run just to keep me from focusing on how difficult it feels (I had weaned myself off of it before my second half). But this also means that every run feels like a serious victory, and maybe more importantly, I get to listen to the High School Musical soundtrack (Bet On It came on during a very pivotal moment in my long run this weekend) and One Direction on a regular basis. Stay tuned for more updates!
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