Thankful

Note: I have placed my blog updates on hold until I resume my Three In Three Challenge. Until then, you can follow my trail running at DailyMile.com.

I can think of many things to be thankful for on this special day. I have been blessed over the years. But I will limit my thoughts to the context of my Three In Three Challenge.

Today I am thankful to Dr. Santiago for encouraging me to start this journey. After setting my three goals (quit smoking, lose 50 lbs., run a ultramarathon) we started working on the first goal--quit smoking. I am proud to announce that as of today I have been SMOKE FREE for two years!

I can say that quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things that I have done in my life. But it is so worth it. If there are any smokers out there reading this, I encourage you to talk to your doctor and ask him or her to help you quick smoking. Yes, you will go through hell and back, but the journey is well worth it.

For encouragement, read how I quit smoking. Trust me... from someone who has gone through it, it is so worth it. Make the decision, call your doctor and get started down the path of living a smoke free life.

Feeling Good

What can I say... I am running again and it feels really good. I know I need to be careful not to overdue it and to ramp up my mileage base slowly, but it feels good to be back out on the trail.

I am just going to focus on getting back into the routine for the rest of the year and then pick my next target race to resume training. I know I will achieve my ultra marathon goal this year. It's a no brainier.

Did I mention that it feels good to get back out on the trail again?

Just saying...

Missed

Being away from the trail caused me to forget how beautiful it is out here.
I remember now.

I'm Back!!!

Over the last three months I've gone through a slow and often painful recovery from plantar fasciitis. I've been following the tips for treating plantar fasciitis and I can say that it seems to have worked. I am at a point now that I can walk in the morning without pain. I've also done a few test runs over the last couple of weeks and my foot seems to hold up OK. I am not at the point where I am ready to start training again but I do think its time to reestablishing a training base.

I am going to keep things real simple for the rest of the year. Since I haven't been running consistently, the first order of business is to get running consistently! So for the rest of the year I am going to focus on getting back out on the trail on a regular schedule. Initially I will run Tues/Wed/Thurs and then one day on the weekend. I will add the Sunday recovery run once my long runs get up to about 20 miles. Once I am consistently back above 35 mile per week base I will pick my next race and start training for it.