Getting Back On Track

We all have life changing events and this one came without warning. I have been working part time as a prep chef and as time went, the other members on my team started making mistakes. Not the kind that’s unavoidable but the kind that you shouldn’t make after 2 months on the job. This caused our employer to decrease their hours and increase mine. Needless to say they quit, one at a time.
As soon as this quitting happened, I kind of figures we would be OK. Going from 5 to 4 people wasn’t so bad. Everybody was fine. Soon enough the next round happened but this time last week, two people quit at the same time. Now, the next part is predictable. The last person other than me quit yesterday. My day off was called off.

Clearly this has had a slow but drastic impact on my scheduling. Going from fighting my last employer for more hours to having them handed to me is a bit odd for me. With more hours on my plate (standing all day) I work from 10 AM to 8 or 9 at night. After long hours, I don’t feel like going out running. The only answer to this is to run before work. Last night, I got an email from my boss telling me to come in at 9 now. This just means I have to get up an hour earlier so I can get some exercise and leave in time.

This morning, I told myself to get up and go run. 1 mile is all I got out but it’s a start. I’m getting back on track and I refuse to let my job ruin my ability to exercise!

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Running Shoes

My new running shoes!

Slowing Down a Bit

One of the biggest issues I have with my running is I have not been focusing on my distance and focusing more on speed.While that’s a good thing if I were worried about my pace, I’m not. The only thing I need to be making sure of is that when I run my half and/or full marathon I need to be sure I’m running faster than a 15 minute mile. That’s only because it’s the cut off time for marathons. (6.5 hours)

Training is supposed to get you ready for the distance and endurance. Speed should come by itself. I’m losing weight so speed will come eventually. This is one reason why I don’t use the treadmill, because I don’t have a stable speed yet and when I do run on the treadmill, my shin splits come back. So, for this month; I’m going to change my focus to distance rather than speed. It’s no longer about how fast I go but how far I go. I want to do a half by May 5th so that’s my main goal. Today is Saturday, I need to either go run a good run or do a easy/rest day or cross training. It’s either run those seven miles today or tomorrow. 

Perhaps instead of saying I will do it tomorrow, I should say… “Lets map it out and I’ll get my butt moving!”

It’s almost noon. I have plenty of time to get moving. I’m a bit worried because starting next week I work during the day so that just means I need to re-adjust my sleeping schedule and start working out earlier in the morning or be willing to run at night. It’s just a matter of preference but I am going to get those 40+ miles this month even if it hurts me! 

Running in March

Well, hello March!! It’s so nice to see you once again. I am super excited about this month because

1. St. Patricks Day is in March

2. I have set the goal of two runs this month. Right now they’re both 5K’s

3. I have set a goal of running more than 40 miles this month. How many exactly, I don’t know. The goal is “MORE” than 40 miles.

4. Winter is coming to an end. That means warmer days!

Getting your foot out the door is what matters. I have been reviewing what kind of runs I want to do over the next few months and I can’t figure out which one to pick! I am definitely doing the color run in April and am doing the Dash down Greenville this month on the 16th. I want to do the heels and hill half which is in May (the 5th). My mother emailed me and reminded me that my Grandmother’s birthday was in May (the 21st) and so this would be a great way to remember her. She had recently passed on in November of 2012 so this would be the first birthday she isn’t around.

Kicking off the month with a great start, I’m going to go running this morning. No set goal or time. Just going to go out and enjoy the day.