So much has happened and so many things are different that it's hard to know where to begin. I guess I'll start right where I am. I got a cold 3+ weeks ago and it hung on for dear life and now it's nearly gone. I've been trying to run since we got here and it's a struggle. I'd have to go for a drive to find somewhere flat to run, and even that would be relative. I'm not sure my body feels any better about the elevation here than it did the day we arrived more than two months ago.
There are many pleasant trails here in our neighborhood (and beyond), and I've been able to check out a few. Driving to go to a trail kind of rubs me the wrong way, or I'd be able to tell about more. Running on the roads in our neighborhood is actually pretty decent--our street and another create a 3.5-mile loop that I tried once, but it includes some really ridiculous hills, so I've been sticking to the trails.
My runs have all had walking breaks (except one apparently perfect day when I ran 3 without walking--just stopped a couple of times). I just don't feel like I'm making any progress, so I've chosen the FIRST novice 5k plan (to take a sedentary person to finishing a 5k), chopped the first couple of weeks off it, and have completed my first week. I've decided I'll follow it to the letter no matter what sort of unfortunate terrain I'm covering and if I can't, I'll need to repeat the week that I fail. This is how I hope to get accustomed to the hills, and the elevation will happen when it happens. I'm thinking of running a December 5k, but I might not bother.
Following that, I'm planning to follow the FIRST intermediate 5k plan, and then hopefully (ramp up and) be ready to train for a fall half. I'm hoping to also get ready for a late summer triathlon or two with my cross-training. I really want a bike. Even a cheap one, if there is such a thing. I'm not doing another (road) triathlon on my mountain bike. I just ordered an entry-level wetsuit, with a coupon I unexpectedly got from Campmor. I am working more now, so training will be an even tighter affair, and what the kids will be doing next summer is a complete mystery for now.
