goin' off the rails on a crazy train

They say life is what happens while you're making other plans...these days, I can't help but agree. As gung-ho as I was to start my Couch to 5K training, it seems like I keep tripping (no pun intended) up on other obligations.

November's calendar kind of blew up with appointments and plans, so I've been stuck on Week 1 for going on two weeks now. Not intentionally, mind you! I had already decided I would repeat Week 1 since I was still trying to get over a nasty cold/sinus infection. My first attempt at Week 1 was at a much slower pace because of the illness, but I sped up for the second try.

(If you're wondering about all of the jargon surrounding C25K, check out www.coolrunning.com.)

In any case, I am committed to continuing to plug away at it, even if I do get stuck on the first few weeks over the holidays. Some of my other girlfriends who have also planned on picking up the 5K circuit again are looking at the Youth Villages 5K in April as our "debut," so I have time. That's one of the things I really like about C25K; it's a program that allows you to take a significant goal, like running 3.2 miles nonstop, and break it down into bitesize bits. So as you're building endurance, you can still celebrate little milestones along the way and feel like you've accomplished something. It's a perfect mindset for someone like me who tends to take a large project and immediately create stepping stones. Even when I'm on the treadmill, chugging it out, I think to myself, "Just make it through the next 30 seconds" or "Get through the next chorus of the song and you'll have made it!" Little victories - often - keep me coming back for more.

Things aren't going to get any easier now that I've lost my dogsitter! Now, O and I will have to split up days we go to the gym after work since someone will have to come home to let the pups out. But as my running idol Jeff says, "No excuses." Looks like I'll be dragging the dogs along for a run around the block to try and keep up with my C25K schedule from now on!

The holidays are upon us...I wonder how much the rich food and time off will affect my schedule. And my midsection!