I'm definitely a creature of habit. I order the same coffee drinks, eat the same pastries (or other things), and run in the same areas. Except now I can't run the same routes I was running before. Usually my running routes start from my home, and I just plot a circular route without too many loops that will take me out and back. My first long run is this Saturday, so I am back to the drawing board, using my favorite mapping tool: GMap Pedometer.
I might be running with a friend this weekend (half marathon training goes a lot faster if you have somebody to run with), but even if I don't I have a 7 mile run to get in. I was thinking of starting my run at North Quincy and running along Quincy Shore Drive and the beach until I get close to Quincy Center, going through my stomping grounds as it were, and looping back. Just over 7 miles. I've been over most of the area, but I'm not quite sure how the roads and traffic is where Sea Street crosses the Southern Artery. I think it will be OK, especially if the run is on the earlier side.
I was supposed to go running yesterday, but I'm a morning runner through and through. This can be a problem, because it means that I don't tend to go running if it is past that window of two to three hours after I wake up. Definitely something for me to fix. I'm still trying to perfect my training. It's just too easy for me to say that the walking is enough or that running on the treadmill will be enough today even though I know that the treadmill is an easier surface, though far more boring!
Today is Sunday's run (25 minutes, easy peasy). Tomorrow is yoga and speedwork (treadmill), and hopefully from there I will be caught up and able to get back into a routine. Faster times, trim legs, and less stress all from the power of pavement.