Jan 31; Day one.

Day one in this marathon quest was an odd one. For one thing, my little corner of the world, the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, has a winter storm. There is more than six inches of snow on the ground and the bottom layer is ice. Ice, ice baby. My first day begins with slippery, slick walkways and boots versus running shoes.

I'm beginning with a walk/run plan since I haven't run any real distance in several years. Run 1 min, walk 2 min and repeat 10 times. Okay, today it was just five times. The cold temperature today wasn't the issue. I've got all the gear to deal with the weather. It was the lack of good footing. My budget is too strapped to join a gym so a treadmill is not at my disposal.

And frankly I wouldn't go to one anyway. Those places are full of protein-pushing trainers who really know nothing about nutrition and can't seem to tell you anything other than eat an animal-filled diet. I'm a vegetarian. I concede that I may incorporate salmon into my diet while I'm in training, but I prefer to leave meat out of the equation. Which seems to completely throw off any diet plan a trainer at a gym can provide.

But I digress... (see my link to Vegetarian Times, anyway :^) )

I added cross training with my free weights today. One set of 10 for a series of 8 exercises. Ouch. I'm so out of shape I am already sore.

Oh, and did I mention that "Aunt Flow" is in town? Yep, a fun start.

I made a pot of lentil and vegetable soup with seaweed. I have enough for lunch all this week. Eggs with brown rice, or steel cut oatmeal with dried cranberries and nuts for breakfast. Salads or roasted veggies with whole grain pasta for dinner. Food will be more utilitarian during my training. I love to eat, hence the plus 40 pounds on my butt. So no more baked goods for a while.

I'm getting some Epsom salts for the hot baths I'm sure I'll need.

Good times. Tomorrow is the easy walk for 30 minutes.