A good Day 3

Today rocked!! I woke up at 5;18am and went to the gym as planned (3 early mornings in a row, I am proud). Had a great workout. Normal 30 minutes on the elliptical and an awesome free weight session that left my arms a bit tired.

Spent my precious early AM hours before work on the phone with Dell Support because our new computer cannot receive an internet connection. Got disconnected twice, on hold with several different departments and you can imagine the rest, for a total of about 2 hours. I have put that off for months because I knew it would be that horrendous. Anyway, finally got what I needed, which was an appointment tomorrow to switch the motherboard.. Painful, but o'well. I get to cross that one off the TO DO list.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have had this mountain bike ride planned for tonight. Had no idea what to anticipate. Got to my friends house and left by 10 to 6pm. We were heading for the hills. I still didn't know what this meant, nor did I know how far it was going to be, but I was up for the adventure.

Up the hilly road we climb. It reminded me of driving up old La Honda Road. It was straight up and I thought, we must be getting close. Oh no, that was just the road that led us to the entrance of the dirt trail at Fremont Older. Oh yes, we rode straight up hill for an hour...I mean straight up hill, to the top of Maisy trail. As gruesome as it was, it was at the same time the most amazing ride of my life. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous but it challenged me past my comfort zone and make me dig down deep...and that I did! I made it to the top with no stops, which according to my friends was the first of their friends that didn't need to stop. Considering the fact that I am just getting back into hard core working out, that made me feel great! And not only great did I feel, but inspired to do it again and again.

Let me just tell you coming back down was ALL down hill. Wow, that was FUN. I cruised and laughed as I made my way down. Talk about exhilarating and gratifying after all the work to get up it. It made it all worth the climb and the few little hills seemed like nothing compared to the hike up. I must have been going 40mph coming down the road after the trails. Truly amazing and an experience to be had.

I should be dog tired considering the fact that I double worked out today and haven't had a consistent week of working out in quite some time. But no, I am energized and fired up for what's to come. I have also committed to riding this trail with my friends once a week. I loved it so much that I coined it my new 2nd love next to running. I figure this will be a great cross training for me. It's certainly an endurance climb, my heart was pounding the entire time. But I know in time, just like with running, I will build the endurance to climb it faster and better. What a challenge and I am up for it! A great end to day 3 for me!

Day 2

I am tired so I will keep this short and sweet. Great day overall, I got up and ran 4 miles this morning. I ran slower than I normally do, about a 10 minute mile. Getting back in the drift of things can be challenging, but bottom line, I got up and did it.

I have enjoyed the last two mornings. Being up early allows for a work out and some time to tend to things around the house that need tending before hitting it hard at work.

I am planning on hitting the gym tomorrow followed by a grueling mountain bike ride at 5:30. We'll see how I feel Thursday morning.

Overall, so far so good. But hey, it's been 2 days, I have no excuses.

Day 1 of my 11 week training for Nike 1/2 marathon

Amazing what time brings for all of us. For me, the last 14 months have been a mixed bag of goodies. The last time I posted was I think the last time I ran a 1/2 marathon, sad to say. I was on top of the world because I ran a 1/2 without much training, but as I look back and remember, I was in good enough shape due to consistently running to be able to pull it off. My job got more demanding, I was injured and out of commission for 3 months and ever since then I have been trying to find my way back.

Who would have thought it could be so hard with all the demands of life, let alone an injury that made me start almost from scratch. I work 10 hour days and value my sleep, so the thought of getting up at 5:00am is not desirable. I have been able to master 5 miles for most of my runs but they are so spotty that it's hard to maintain the endurance, which is what brings me to today.

Today is a new chapter and a new opportunity for me to be consistent. Today is day 1 of a my new challenge. Time to get serious and to push myself outside of my comfort zone so that I can be fully prepared of what Nike brings me, which are lots of hills.

I started my day today at the gym doing 3 miles on the elliptical, free weights and sit ups. Mind you it was 5:30am, which as I stated is a challenge in itself. Usually the first day you wake up early isn't so hard, it's all the others that follow that are tough. I had a great workout, I felt tip top and I am pumped for day 2.

I thought what better way than to blog about my 11 week journey to the finish line of a race I have run twice and couldn't be more proud to have the opportunity to run again. I will either do it or I won't, right? I haven't tended to my blog in the last 14 months due to all the distractions called life but what better reason than to start today. I can replay in mind what I did right and what I did wrong by keeping a consistent account of my activity and hopefully I will learn something new about myself in the process. I am putting myself to the test. Can I do it? I know I can, but will I follow through. Let this be my accountability.

Follow me in my 11 week journey. Encourage, cry and laugh with me as I dig gown deep to find the balance needed to be successful to run this 1/2 with amazing grace. From being full time mom, full time employee and an awesome 1/2 marathoner. My plan is to come back better and stronger!