New problems, new solutions

I didn't lie in my last post, I really am redoubling my efforts and trying my best to stay with the program.  I haven't slept in, haven't gone out to eat, and have only eaten healthy food.  I also went to the gym this morning for some strength training.  I would have liked to do some running, but I made the stupid mistake of sprinting at school in my DCs and ended up with my first running injury, a rather pronounced case of metatarsalgia (sp?), basically where the ball of your foot gets scrunched together and swells up.  I COULD run on it, but I think the smart thing to do is to stay off of it until its fully recovered.  Until then I'm going to focus on strength training and spinning.  For those of you not in the know, spinning is just a fancy term for doing cardio on an exercise bike. Its supposed to be a good workout comparable to (but not as good as) running, but with zero impact so its better on your joints.  Its a good substitute for running when you have an injury that running may exacerbate. 

So those are the new problems, but what are the new solutions?  Well, the solution is the cure to my enthusiasm problem.  Its tough to find motivation to run sometimes, but it helps a lot when you have a goal or something to look forward to.  When I was at the gym this morning I saw a flyer for a Valentine's Day 5K.  Its on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 12 2011, about 3 months away.  Since I can already run 5K no problem (about 3.2 miles) I'm going to try to speed up my pace and focus on running 3.2 miles at a comfortably fast pace.  I know that I'm not going to win or anything, but I would like to make a decent time.  My first race might also give me a new boost of enthusiasm to help me continue running, and if I enter more 5Ks I will have a time to use as a reference to see how I'm improving!