Remember that shot? Yeah… that was last fall. That was also the last time that I was fit. Training was so easy last year with the Nike+ device, because I would just login every morning and my training program would tell me how far to run and how fast to go. Since I have switched over to the Garmin, I have had a much more difficult time getting motivated to train. It was much easier to stay motivated when I had a little computer program putting another notch in the spreadsheet and telling me “good job” at the end of each run.

Starting yesterday, there are only 18 weeks until the Chicago marathon, and only a handful after that until NYC. If I were to run either of those today, it would probably be the most painful experience ever. Since I have been craving structure so badly, I broke down yesterday and decided to go with a Hal Higdon training program. Reagan has trained with his programs before, and so have several of my friends. So I figure that I will give it a shot. To be completely honest, I don’t need a “training program” as much as I just need a little thing to check the boxes and keep me organized. So Hal, you’re it, buddy!

From now until November 7th, Friday’s will be my only lazy days. Actually, I will probably take a lazy week after the Chicago race, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

To keep myself accountable, I’m going to start posting a Weekly Running Evaluation again (just when you thought this blog couldn’t be anymore boring, hehe). So far, the training has not gone well. I had a very bad run yesterday and today. I am currently as sloppy and ridden with extra body-blah as I have ever been. So, it’s a good thing that I’m starting now. I’m headed out of town later this week, so I might miss a few days. But, I’m sure that they will be replaced with some high-altitude cross training.

This is a bonus paragraph for those who made it all of the way through this post– Tomorrow morning I’m posting the biggest giveaway so far, on JNB. If you are into photography, or know someone who is, you might be interested in this round.

I have been so bad at running lately (by lately, I mean, since last October). When I heard that we were going to be back into the 60′s weather-wise, this week, I knew my excuses had run out. It seemed a bit nutty to try to get back into a routine, two days after daylight savings kicked in. But I had to get up to move the car this morning anyway, so all I had to do was will myself not to get back in bed afterward. I have to admit that the conditions were not ideal, and it was still a little cold for my liking. But I’m glad that I went, even though it was short and slow.

It was so nice to just be out running, by myself, not on the treadmill. I forgot how much I missed that feeling. It is like something I remember from a former life, from before it got cold and started snowing. Oh, wait, that was last September, not a former life. Hahahaha. I even got back in time to record a pretty decent sunrise from our roof. When I can give this same report in 3 weeks, without having slacked, then I will really have something to feel good about.

The official stats are in, and apparently we received nearly 4 inches of rain in the City, between Friday and Saturday. 4.7 inches is the monthly average amount of rainfall for NYC for the month of March. Winds were gusting to 60 MPH, and they actually canceled the Staten Island Ferry service, on Saturday evening because it was becoming to dangerous to dock. I literally did not leave the house one time on Saturday.

We were planning on seeing Piper early Sunday morning. But when I checked the traffic report, all of the parkways heading north were either flooded or closed for debris removal. Right about then, the thunder, lightning and hailstorm kicked into high gear.

Around 2 in the afternoon, the rain turned to a drizzle, so Reagan and I decided to wander out and inspect the damage. Luckily, there were no downed tree limbs across our car. We took a stroll to Ft. Tryon Park, where the parks department had already done a stellar job of clearing all of the mess from the storm. Plus, I really liked the photo below, that I snapped of Reagan, on our walk home. We made it back inside, right as it started to really pour, again.