Starting from scratch

I'm a little embarassed to admit that I have been completely slack, lazy, unmotivated, UNINSPIRED to run or exercise over the past few months. After I completed the Las Vegas 1/2 marathon, I was so excited to keep running and train for another race. I took a month off of running, and then signed up for the Country Music 1/2 marathon in Nashville. I really thought I could just keep up with my training and do it on my own ..... wrong answer. The longest run I did before Nashville was 8 miles, and I felt totally unprepared going into that race. I finished the race (and actually 29 minutes faster than I did in Vegas), but did not feel good about my strength or endurance. I again took almost 2 months off of running, because it was starting to get hot and I had lots of things going on --- like graduation! I then ran the Peachtree Road Race 10K on the 4th of July after 2 weeks of training by myself .... once again, big mistake! And I decided that if I was truly going to run in Las Vegas again this year, I obviously NEEDED to do it with a group. I have proven to myself that when left on my own, I lack the inspiration and motivation to properly train and keep up with running.


Sooo .... here I am starting my second season with Team Challenge! I will be honest and say that I haven't run since about mid-July. I can feel it in the way my body feels, how my clothes fit, and the lack of energy I have. Our training officially starts this week, and I feel like I did exactly one year ago .... like I am starting completely from scratch! I'm a little nervous about getting back into shape, but with the support of my coaches and teammates (and the knowledge that I CAN successfully run 13.1 miles with proper training), I am excited about this season of Team Challenge and about starting my training again .... even if it is from scratch!