Well my running has certainly had its ups and downs. The greates down was in 2007 when I had to have srgery on my meniscus. It has been an even more difficult climb since then.

I renewed my efforts to keep my fitness on track again yesterday. I plan to spend more time on the eliptical until my legs are sufficiently conditioned to withstand long runs. Yesterday I did 510 calories on the eliptical which equates to about 4.5 miles.

This morning I will go again at it. The plan is simple. Form a daily habit of morning exercise. Evening exercise when added to this will bring progress at a much faster rate. The morning habit will ensure there is always some progress. But it has to be a habit.

Fire It Up Again!

Today I began to take stock of my intake once again. My intake is generally high in the morning and high in the evenings.
This mornng I put away a cup of grapes and three scrambled eggs on a kaiser roll, topped off with hot chocolate. Later on I had 2 slices of low-fat bread an apple and a banana. I just finished dinner which was about a cup and a half of rice, a large chicken breast (probably 5 oz) and some vegetables (which I don`t really count). At some point I will total these. I have been using Diet Power on and off to monitor my intake, and I think I would have been much worse off without it. Time to fire it up again.
I did my circuit through the town this evening. The shadows came early and it was less fun than it could have been.

Ready, Set

New day today. So much rain yesterday I would have been washed away if I tried to run. Anyway, a mild autumn day predicted for today, so I`m ready and set.

Back Again!

"Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself." (Erich Fromm)

Well I have been away from blogging for a while, haven`t I? Yes. Well I should at least make an update on the event that inspired this blog. I did run and complete the New Jersey Marathon in April this year! It was an unforgetable experience. Then I fell off the map. So many challenges in the other aspects of my life that it appeared something had to give and that was blogging. Running, I ket up a little. About once a week on average. So, yes, I put on weight as a result. Anyway, things have just become more intense in all aspects of my non-running life and it`s clear that running helps. So I am returning to full active duty. Had a short run on Monday, and replaced my shoes yesterday. Will see if I can get out today once the rain holds.

Early Break

Well I listened to my body today and took a break. Will resume tomorrow with another 4.5 miles. Diet today was no good.
Keep trying. More details later.

Jump Start

The only sure way to never fail is to never stop trying. We have all heard it before. I believe it. I live it. So for the hundredth time I will attempt to change my life once and for all. This is the chronicle of my journey.

My journey begins with the insane trial by fire. I did not design it this way. It just happened. The ironic coming together of inconsistency and determination in one individual makes for difficult goals. My goal this time is to run the New Jersey Marathon in April. That`s just about ten weeks away!

To be truthful this journey began when there were about 15 weeks to the date. But just about nothing happened over the last month. I always wanted to run a marathon before age 35 and this is my last chance so here goes.

I am no stranger to running. Not at all. Most years I run for a good stretch of 4 months. And during that time I would get up to about 4 or five times per week before I break for 2 weeks and then restart agian. I always end up breaking because of a busy schedule or injury.

This time I hope this blog keeps me on track, despite the twists and turns in my schedule. I will rely on common sense and better traing to avoid injury. I will also incorporate yoga/pilates into my training.

I will be using Hal Higdon`s formula for novices, but jumping in at about week 5. This wil ensure that my long run starts at a distance I know I can do, and ends at about the highest distance given for this routine.

Today I ran an untimed 4.5 miles. My diet was also on track!