Since finishing my first marathon, I have been running a total of three times. And two of those times were for races. Three times in three months…nice. With an injury, work, school, applications, interviewing, traveling, holidays, volunteering and my social life (yes, my social life beats exercise hands down…which is why I am so happy when I can combine the two), running got put on the back burner.

I decided to not be too hard on myself and told myself that I would get back into it once the tonsils had healed (which they are not entirely, but I’m clear to exercise as it’s been two weeks). So that is what I did today. Yesterday, I decided to ease my way back into things with a little Hip Hop Abs action (one of the great benefits of living alone…I can do workout videos anytime I want with no fear of mocking!)

Anyway, I’m in training for my next race, the Canyonlands Half Marathon, and I have every intention of PR-ing (I love forming my own gerunds) and if that’s what I want to accomplish, I have got to get my arse in gear. And today was the day to start. Thank goodness for treadmills.

I packed my bag this morning, and then realized that I had forgotten part of the Nike+. That was almost enough to make me not go running. I wanted my run recorded in my iPod. But, somehow I managed to get over that, and off to the gym I went right after work!

For anyone who has been through the cycle of working out, not working out, and working out again, you know just how not fun and not easy the “working out again” part of the cycle is. The excuses are endless. Discouragement and hope seem to fight it out in your head daily. Just under three months ago I ran 26.2 miles…and today? Well, 3.3 miles almost killed me. This is the battle of my life, and it’s a battle I intend to keep fighting. So I was a snail today, and every part of me hurt, and I thought my lungs were going to collapse and my heart was going to explode. I survived, and the next run will be better!

Onward and upward, right?