Now What?

I finished my goal race (in decent time, too!). I have hung the medal on the Race Bling plaque, worn the race shirt out on the town, picked up my (self-taken) photos from the race...

Now what? How do I keep my motivation?

I've talked to the trainer, to the man, to other fitness friends, and I think I came up with a plan. The problem is, this plan involves a year- A YEAR!- of dedication to the program.

November 10: Laingsburg LEAF 10K
November 28 (Happy Turkey Day!): Detroit Turkey Trot 10K
December 1:  **Start training program (6 mo) for Lansing Half Marathon**
December 14: Jingle Belle Run/Walk with the Barbies
May 3, 2014: Lansing Half Marathon
**June 16: Start Hal Higdon Training**
October 19, 2014: Detroit FULL Marathon

Between those dates, I will continue doing 5K and 10K races-- I enjoy those kinds of races, and I promised the oldest girl that she can start racing with me if she can handle 3 miles at a time without complaining (she may or may not be getting an iPod Shuffle for Christmas, so she can listen to music and run, too). I'm not totally sold on the idea of doing the Warrior Dash for a 4th year, but there are some other fun runs I want to do, like the Color Run.

I plan on continuing Spin class and training with Amy. I love those sessions too much to give either up, and both are great cross-training workouts to season in between running sessions.

I'm also planning on signing up for Team Playmakers in January. This is a training team that provides support, logistics, coaches, and "running buddies" for any distance. Runs are Saturday morning at 7:30am. through the session. I'm not sure if I want to do the spring (through June 13) AND summer (through Detroit Marathon) training programs, or just one of them. It's $95 for one program, and $65 for every additional program after. I like the idea of the assisted long runs (complete with water stations and course assistance- and again, running buddies), and I like that it will force me to get out of bed and run on Saturday mornings whereas I would be sleeping. My biggest hurdle to doing the long runs has been the lack of water/Gatorade stations. Because of that (and because I know that by passing my house on a run, I would totally quit and go and lie on the couch), I was training at the gym. Treadmill running is definitely not the same as road or trail running, plus the treadmill stops cold at the 60 minute mark- causing me to lurch forward and almost fall off of the treadmill (ok, not "almost." More like "stumble backwards and lose my iPhone on the treadmill.")

But, will I realistically get out of bed on a Saturday morning to go and run outside during the winter?? Will paying $95 guilt me into going running every Saturday morning through June?

And, why do you people run SO early in the morning?!

I've re-evaluated my calorie goal-- seriously, losing 8 lbs and getting a year older (less than 2 months away) only reduced my calories by 7?! Sweet.

I know it's not all about running. I enjoy the running, and I enjoy my workout classes too. But I also (really) enjoy the couch. If I can capitalize on the enjoyment factor, the rest should fall in line. Right?

Trainer says I need to get my knee evaluated before I sign up for any marathon- my knee is not "tracking" properly, and if I can't get that under control, I may be in for a world of hurt. Hopefully when I go for my annual exam in January, I can get a referral to a specialist- and a referral to a nutritionist. My insurance covers 6 visits/year to a nutritionist, and it would be nice to have someone who specializes in the field set a calorie goal, realistic fitness goals, and help me get out of the food rut.

I came up with that last idea as I was sitting on the couch, eating a bag of mini-Reeses cups. King size, baby. Thankfully those have all been consumed and there are no more Reeses in the house-- now, the other Halloween candy, that's another story..