Back at it.

I really didn't do anything last month; a few runs and a few rides and that's about it. I guess I lost some motivation there and mostly wasted away my favorite month of the year. Luckily Fall is a long season here in Asheville and I'll be given a second chance here in November to enjoy some great Fall running. 7 miles (144) this morning and boy am I out of shape. A little dissapointing as I was, about a month ago, just starting to get a solid base going for the winter. On a positive side, I think I can recover fairly quickly from what I lost this past month. Today I felt like my heart muscle was more out of shape than my legs.
I also lost any motivation I have for Cyclo-Cross. I think this just comes from my laziness to maintain something like a bike. I'm very used to throwing on a few articles of clothing, heading out the door and going. Now there's this whole bike that I'm just too lazy to actually use. I think the straw though was when I got a flat tire and never fixed it. It just sunk in at that point that "what if I get a flat in a race?" Again, just too lazy when it come to maintaining equipment. I'll keep it as simple as I've been keeping it for the past 15 years and enjoy what I like most - the utter simplicity of running - the 2 minutes it takes to get out the door. I'll still use the bike for some great 30-60 minute rides when it's convenient and will be quite happy with that.
As for now, I'm back at it looking to get a solid base. I'm hoping to be comforably hitting a 70 mile week by the end of the year and maintaining that. I'd also like to concentrate a little more on my strengths - running races that take me 1-2 hours. I might throw a marathon in there at some point, but I'd really just like to stay in that 1-2 hour range and really enjoy what I do best.