I'm amazed by the camaraderie I've encountered

Maybe it was my childhood "trauma" of being the last one picked in gym class, not being athletically gifted (and catching grief for it), or being a "late bloomer" to fitness that I thought that I would be isolated in this journey but I have found the reverse to be true.

When I started running, I did it exclusively on the treadmill because I was self-conscious over the extra weight I was carrying. I trained for a 5K and my first 10K on the treadmill and it seemed to work for me but when I started training for a half-marathon, I had to bite the bullet and start running outside.

Until recently, a considerable portion of my running was done in the park or on a trail because I was hesitant to run on the street (once again, self-consciousness was taking control). I was amazed at the friendliness of the folks I encountered. A number of people will wave, say "hi" or "how are you doing," but some may actually initiate dialog to ask how far you're running today or if you're training for a particular race.

When I started going on the race circuit, I was intimidated by being surrounded by numerous runners who were a hell of a lot faster than me. When I go to the NYRR events, my corral corresponds with my best registered pace and I am surrounded by folks who run a pace comparable to mine. I've met a runners who were committed to running and overcoming challenges but yet we've joked about "how slow" we are and would check on each other during the course of the race to see how we're progressing.

I just moved to a new neighborhood and it's a bit of a burden to go to the places where I've run so I have been exploring the area while logging the miles. It turns out I was my biggest critic in terms of how I looked when running; as far as "everybody else," they don't care.

Hitting a plateau

I have been slacking something awful since the fall. Running has been the only thing that has saved my ass from having the scale revert to my previous numbers.

I will admit fault. Yes, I can say that life got in the way, I picked up a crazy workload, I'm dealing with personal crap, etc. but the fact is that I haven't been on top of my game.

A few weeks ago, I went for my Weight Watchers weigh-in and the leader addressed plateaus. He was spot on when he said that we will plateau when we get comfortable with our results and take it as license to get lax in our routines. That's exactly what happened to me. I lost 60 pounds and have been getting compliments so it goes without saying that I did develop a sense if complacency.

Yes, if my life was different,  I'm sure the extra weight would've been long gone but the reality is that I have a husband, a daughter, and a career that seems to revolve around meals and cocktail parties so it's a challenge to modify my eating.

I'm running my first marathon in less than 4 months so I will be doing a lot of training runs and some cross-training. To be on top of my game when I conquer those 26.2 miles on November 2nd, I need to work on other components between now and then.

Links that I like...now to get them to work for me

I found these programs through Google and saved PDF copies on my machine. Now to get off my ass and put these programs to use.

Running
5K
10K
Half Marathon
Marathon

Biking

Swimming (Please note: the PDF conversion process might leave a little something to be desired...got a little messy on my end.

I plan on working on the running programs in sequence. After I complete the 5K program, I will work on the 10K program. Once the weather warms up (I live on Long Island), I should be ready for the half-marathon program which should keep me busy until the fall (and it cools down again). Ideally, as the pounds come off, my speed should increase; my latest documented pace will come at a later post.