It is Easter weekend, a lovely four-day weekend that will undoubtedly leave me on Monday just aching to get back to work and away from the tedium of home. Yeah, you read that right.

However, I capitalized on the FINALLY nice weather yesterday (see last post where I asked for warm... we just got it), and went out for my first run in, according to my running watch, three weeks.

Now a bit of my failure to run is falling off the maintenance plan, and part of it was a bitch of a cold that invaded my sinuses, and a bit of it was the cold in my lungs finally deciding to come out. Yes, the cold I had two weeks prior to my March 12 race decided to go.

I'm not 100% better. I'm still sniffling and coughing a bit but damn I'm tired of waiting for nicer weather and clear lungs to run, so I'll take the nicer weather. I did a 5km route around my block. My left knee was stiff when I started, and then right at the end, my left knee started to go. However, all in all, the nice weather, a good breakfast of pancakes, and only slight muscle stiffness has me rarin' to get back on running track.

That, and realizing there's a marathon at the end of August I'd love to try.

To the Grind

I started running with the Running Room again last night. I joined the 10K group about a week in, and did the 6k planned last night.

As I knew, and anyone with common sense would know, jumping back in from my previous gleeful status of 'running once in a while' to 6k is bound to leave some ouchie.

That was my thighs and knees today. They didn't hurt quite as much as I expected, but a chance conversation with a friend who's recovering from a knee injury reminded me to buy new ice packs.

Tomorrow's plan is for 3k. I'm going to (try to) get up early in the morning to do it then - a little solidarity with my sweetie who has to be up at 4 a.m. for work.

As I last wrote, I want to plan a bit more on the idea of an exit strategy to this 10k group, which will end March 12. It is thus: run with the half-marathoners. C'est easy, non?
I will slide in with the half-marathon group and continue my training that way.

When I hit that point, then, I'll have to decide what to do next. Probably just sign up for the group and the next race again.

Clinic starts tomorrow!

I'll admit that I haven't been running as steadily as I'd hoped before the start of the clinic. In fact, 'intermittent' is probably a better word than 'steadily'.

The clinic is starting, regardless of my fitness level. Fortunately, we start slow and steady; three runs of 3k this week, and 7k on Sunday. I've been doing 3-4k, so that's not a big concern.

My goal race is the Ottawa Race Weekend half-marathon, for a time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. I don't mind if it's less, I just want it to be better than my last race, which was 2 hours and 38 minutes.

I ran with my sister for a while on Saturday. We were in Ste-Hyacinthe for her boxing National Championships, and there was one huge difference between me and anyone else who ran: I was in a shirt and a pair of shorts, and the boxers were in long sweats and covered to the nines. Most of them were trying to sweat their way to making weight, which is a huge part of boxing.
Normally, I'd think this is absolutely crazy! And then I saw my sister and her friends in the hot tub and was amazed. They looked fit and amazing. I thought, if they can do that, why can't I?

So I'm going to take it up another level, and find an online personal trainer to use three days a week. The question is, which one?!?