Long time gone, and never too old to try

Yes, it has been a while.  That is a combination of factors, including a busy fall, crazy winter and general lack of motivation.  So to preserve my running record for posterity, a brief recap is in order.

Fall 2013 -- I was out of shape, but in decent enough shape to consider running NY marathon in November.  I had completed an 18 miler in good shape, and a couple other longish runs.  Then, in early October, I had a trip to Dallas scheduled, and planned on doing something I had always wanted to do, but had never done -- run White Rock Lake.  The basic route around is approximately 9 miles, and my plan was to go 2x around for an 18 miler.  I planned for it extensively, and was ready to go.  Well,one thing I should have remembered October is hot in Dallas.  And White Rock Lake is windy.  So the day started at about 84 degrees with high humidity.  And about a 11-15 mph wind on the lake (there were little whitecaps).  That's not good.  I was drained from the get go, drenched in sweat and battered by the wind.  I made it a little more than once around and pulled the plug to fight another day.  So yes, I ran the Rock. But that day also really, really affected my confidence.  I was not coming off a long cycle of training.  I didn't feel strong running; in fact, I was surprised when I did well (like my 18 miler in Central Park in September).  And then I caught a little cold.  That was enough for me to pull the plug on NYC rather than risk serious injury in a race I really wasn't ready for.  After that, I fell off the wagon and enjoyed my fall 2013, running maybe 3 times in  a month.  I did run a 9 mile race in December to finalize my entry in 2014 NYC marathon.  And not a bad race either (I think I averaged 8:20 or so, which I was pleased with.)

Winter 2014 -- Nothing.  No running.  And a bad diet led to weight gain.  So, after a ski vacation that totally sapped me (I was not ready for physical rigor and altitude), I simply knew it was time to get back in the game.

Now -- I have been back at it for about 3 weeks.  The running is harder, but hey, that is to be expected.  The pay off for this will be this summer when hopefully I will feel stronger.

One thing I am for sure committed to this time is more lifting, stretching, body strength.  The Runners World article in March 2014 convinced me, and I have started the IronStrength workouts (basically about 40 minutes of body iso and plyometric exercises).  Very, very hard, but that means it is working, right?

And I am in NYC 2014 from last year's effort.  So that's the goal race, some 8 months out.

In other news, I bought a Garmin 620.  Nice device, crazy software.  After I have more experience with it. I will post my thoughts.

And I have missed everyone in the running world!