I can't think of a good title this morning. Heh.

Wendy was absolutely right in her comment yesterday about continuing to train throughout the winter to get ready for next spring's Country Music Half.

I'd like to routinely run 30 miles a week – every week – for fitness, weight loss and health. The longest week in the current training regimen is only 25, so stretching it to 30 doesn't seem like it would be too hard to achieve. It would be much, much easier if I could run these miles on my own road, instead of having to drive someplace else in order to run on a relatively flat road.

There aren't many truly flat stretches of road in this part of West Virginia.

However. When I first moved here, 10 years ago, I could run a 6.6-mile loop on my very hilly road without stopping. Of course I was a lot younger then, and a lot thinner, but I think – with some discipline – I could work my way back to doing that. I certainly have the motivation; I'd love to just walk down the driveway and start running. And I think that's what I'm going to do today. It's supposed to be an easy four-miler; if I do the 6.6-mile loop I could probably get four running miles in. Is that cheating?

I've taken the Shuffle along with me the last couple of runs. I was seriously annoyed with it Sunday, after about the sixth mile, and turned it off. But it helped keep me focused most of the time and I'll be taking it with me again this morning. I've been trying to remember how I trained the first time, and the Shuffle was a big part of the routine.

Remember how I didn't expect to lose any weight [and didn't] last winter? And remember how I was okay with that? Obviously, I'm not okay with it any more. I didn't restrict calories then as I am now. Simple physics should yield some success in this area: Burn more than you eat and you should shed some weight. It occurred to me yesterday that high humidity isn't the only factor in my having to take so many walking breaks; calorie restriction is certainly playing a role in my lack of stamina.

Yesterday I did a paltry 15 minutes on the rowing machine – paltry because I'd intended to do 30 and just got too bored to finish. But I followed that with 30 quality minutes with the weight bench and dumbbells. And 100 crunches. I was seriously tired and dripping sweat when I finished, so I know it was a productive workout. And, of all things, my triceps hurt. Those kickbacks are killer! Wonder if I'm ready for a bench dip yet – something I've never been able to do.