Mr. Pottery Class*

For the most part, I am happy with my body (finally after several decades).  But some mornings I get up and look in the mirror and see this:

Not the cranky part - the body part...well the cranky part too but the cranky isn't what the post is about. 


I've decided that New Year's resolutions are made in January and not July because it's a lot easier to stick to goals when it doesn't feel like 109 degrees outside.  It's a little hard to find the motivation to go running when you can hardly breathe while simply standing outside.  On top of that - the AC at my house isn't working all that well - so why would I want to go running, get all sweaty, and return to a house that maintains a comfy 85 degrees?  The 85 degree house also makes it hard to want to workout inside - since it's almost as bad as being outside.


I've signed up for the half marathon again...I think I must subconsciously hate myself.  But I want to do better on it this year...which for a refresher (cause I finally found my time this morning) was 2:27:46 (if I did my math right, which I probably didn't, that's about an 11 minute mile...WITH the walking....which is why I think I did the math wrong).
The point though - I want to train better and I want to start now.  Last year I had some complications - I was taking a pottery class (Monday nights), I had Institute on Tuesdays, Frisbee on Wednesdays (though I went running before), and on top of all of that, I had a boyfriend...there just wasn't time.  I'd squeeze training in and I didn't walk too much last time, but I know I can do better.  I want to finish this time before the marathon runner. 

I'm going to try some new things to help me along, and they are things that I should probably do anyway.  So while I'm waiting for the heat wave to recede or for my AC to be fixed - the least I can do is work on these:

1. Sweet Reduction - Hi, my name is Lildonbro and I'm a sugarholic.  I realized a few weeks ago I was going a little heavy on the sweets, and I told myself to cut back and I really thought I tried but then I realized that saying you were going to cut back on sweets wasn't the same as actually making an effort.  So - I've decided that I don't need to have "dessert" several times a day. I'm going to start with just the evenings - and maybe move on to just the weekend evenings (I have high aspirations here).
2. SLEEP!  I've been staying up late and waking up early (though late for when I should be getting up).  I feel certain that once I do get into the running part of training my body won't be happy with my sleep schedule.  Plus, I need to try to run in the mornings when it is cooler.
3. Drink more water.  Lately it hasn't been a problem, but I would like to drink the recommended daily intake when I'm not sweating buckets.
4. Cross-training.  I never really understood what cross training was - but I plan to not just run but to do sit-ups, lift weights, push-ups, etc.  The whole body is being put through the half marathon - I might as well prepare all of it.
5. Stretch - sometimes I forget to do this cause I just want a shower - but even if I haven't worked out I should stretch. It would probably help me sleep better.

That's about it.  Now the hard part...actually doing it!