I'm Still Alive!

Which, based on the number of times I've posted this year, may come as a surprise. I had a decent January when it came to training, but a very rocky February and March due to some good reasons and some bad reasons. But those are over and done, so let's move forward.

A few noteworthy things have happened since I last posted. I signed up for a half iron distance triathlon on June 28, and I'm really excited about it. It's been a long time since I trained for/did a tri and I forgot how much I enjoy it. With that in mind, I was very excited to go on my first ride of the season two weeks ago. It was a group ride that was sent to me by my friend Bern. It was good to get out on the road, but also entirely too cold for a very long ride so we didn't do much more than 17 miles. The other good news is that it sounds like the group will go out for a ride every couple of weeks. Hopefully gone are the days when I spend an entire season doing training rides by myself!

I also signed up for the Chicago Marathon lottery. I think it would be really fun to do Chicago, since I've spent a little time there for work now. It closes April 21, so I imagine decisions will be made soon after. If I end up doing that, I'll have to miss the Staten Island Half for the first time in 6 years. That's okay, though. Sometimes it's good to change up the routine.

Finally, I'm really proud to say that I've run 50 miles per week for the last three. That's more than I've done in the past but I think it's sustainable for awhile as long as I listen to my body and rest if it's necessary. One thing is for sure, the fact that I've managed it has given me a huge confidence boost about my ability to stick to a training routine. I was beginning to wonder if I'd lost it.

Hopefully this means more posts for me. Happy Easter, everyone!

I set a trail on Friday and the view from the West Side Highway was lovely, even if I didn't capture it very well.

Stepping It Up

Alright, so after nearly half a year of lackadaisical, directionless training, I finally got to the point where I'd had enough. I reached this point a week before the Brooklyn Half Marathon and decided that the week leading up to the Brooklyn Half would be the last one in which I consumed alcohol, at least for the foreseeable future.

As you might know, this isn't the first time I've decided to cut booze out of my life for training purposes. In fact, the very first time I did it was just about five years ago, which is really hard to believe. I did it then for the New York City Marathon in both 2009 and 2010. In 2011, I signed up for my first Ironman and resolved not to drink for the entire year prior.

This time, I'm not sure what the time period is going to be. So far, it's been about three weeks and it hasn't been difficult. The thing I miss most is trying different kinds of beer. Now that I've spent a few weeks resetting my alcohol consumption, I'm trying to decide if I won't keep teetotaling for another month or two before relaxing my rules a bit, or if I'll continue on with total prohibition. This has yet to be decided.

Additionally, Amortya and I are making efforts to train harder and smarter. Our weekend runs have been long (18 miles two weeks ago, 15 miles on Sunday) considering the only marathon for which we've signed up is NYC, which is a full 7 months from now. We've also added speed sessions during the week, which have so far consisted of mile and 2-mile repeats. This week, I also had my own treadmill session in which I ran 5 half mile repeats at a 7:03min/mile pace.

The ultimate goal, and one I've been talking about for over a year, is eventually qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I consider this early stage to be more of a base building stage and I think we're off to a good start.