I am Back!

After a long hiatus, I am back. Since my last post, I have run two races, a 10K and a half marathon. As the holidays rolled around, I lost complete motivation and got lost in the presents, cookies, and holiday celebrations. Now that the holidays and New Year have past, it is time to reevaluate my goals and start training. I find that I need something on my schedule to keep me focused and motivated. I originally wanted to run the New York ING marathon, but with the cancellation of the 2012 marathon, I realize my chances of being chosen through the lottery are pretty slim. Right now I am leaning toward the Fargo marathon as I am familiar with the flat and fast course along with the Chicago marathon. I still want to qualify for Boston and realize that will take a great deal of discipline and hard work on my part.

The other big change I am currently working on is eliminating wheat from my diet. After reading the book Wheat Belly, I want to see if getting rid of wheat will help rid me of the extra belly fat and improve my energy level for training. So far, it has proven to be quite challenging. I was not aware of how many foods contain wheat including tomato soup. One step at a time. I am also reading the book Zen and Done in  hopes of picking up some tips and tricks to help with changing habits.

Today I did a short speed workout with hill intervals. It proved to be not very challenging. I need to push myself more. I also need to start working out earlier in the day as the longer I wait, the harder it is to motivate myself and my energy level starts to drop. I also missed breakfast which is not acceptable. I did substitute tea for coffee and have been trying to completely eliminate coffee with creamer. For lunch I had white chicken chili, a handful of almonds for a snack, and two Dove dark chocolates. Dinner was two bowls of ranch chicken chili (lots of chili and soup lately) and some cheese puffs (not my best option). Tomorrow the plan is to have a spinach, mushroom omelet, Mediterranean soup, and shrimp fajitas for dinner. I need to focus on drinking more water and getting at least 8 hours of sleep...again, I realize one change at a time leads to much more success and less frustration so hear begins my journey!