Rought getting back

January marks a period of time when the gym is crowded with people with resolutions. Each day, the place is packed. Finding an available machine is like finding water in the Sahara. As the year progresses, the herd thins. For me, my peak usage is from December through March, only because track begins, and I tend to run on the road for the rest of the year.

I hate running indoors. Funny, but when 2 miles was an accomplishment, I didn't hate it. In fact, I preferred it, because my joints felt great. Now, going to the gym and running is like taking a death march. The random setting helps simulate hills. Days on the elliptical help me work at an easy pace to build endurance (this is the preferred method @ Runners World). This month in RW, there's a whole article about going slower, shorter, etc. and improving. But, ack, the GYM! So, I hate the gym, yet I dutifully complete my workouts.

At the moment, I have no training plan. This makes things difficult, as I can't check workouts off like I could while training for the marathon. Actually, I've toyed with the idea of doing the first month of the marathon training for each of the next three months. It will have hard weeks and easy weeks, and my body will have an opportunity to bounce back. Plus, right when it gets hard, the mileage will reduce, and I can start again, but at a slightly faster pace. For all I know, I may implement this tomorrow.

How are the resolutions going?

Crunches completed since Jan 1.-400 out of a possible 500. Not bad, but already not perfect. Actually, doing 50 is easy, it's just a matter of remembering to do them.