A half marathon to start 2021 is done and dusted! I was thinking I would hit around 2:05, but squeaked just under 2 hours. Certainly nothing to write home about for me - I ran it at an easy-moderate pace, I’m 15lbs heavier than the last time I raced the distance and training went… well some runs happened.

While I’m glad I did it, I did have two hours to think to myself, “Do I really want to keep doing this to myself?”. I’ve said it before, this winter has really taken a toll on my drive. Dark, cold, rainy nights are not conducive to amazing motivation for me.

So what’s the plan, Stan?

For now, I’m going to keep up an absolute minimum of three runs/week, but will plan for four: a couple of easy runs, a tempo/progression/interval(something hard-er) run and a long run that won’t exceed 90 minutes. Most importantly I’m going to do a couple of days a week of strength work plus 3-5 days of core work. I have severely neglected strength work thanks to my usual gym not being available and now the Fortius gym closing. I don’t like working out at home for a variety of reasons, but I’m going to put my big girl pants on and get it together.

And, of course, I’m going to keep my nutrition in check. I went a little (a lot) off the rails last weekend and was only saved by my metabolism having been boosted over the past few months thanks to the increased activity. Man I missed pizza!

Being without a specific athletic goal is foreign for me and I’m not sure how I’ll keep myself motivated, but I do have a couple of secret goals for the fall that I’ll keep tucked in my back pocket if a virus doesn’t ruin them for me…