I'm Back ;)

It's been a while hasn't it? Almost six months to be exact; well, kind of exact. A few things have changed since my last post and things that are helping me get consistent training in.
I went away and was matched with my new guide dog. We've been together for nearly three months now and things are going well. One of the first routes we learned wen we got home was how to get to the gym. Obviously, this means I can train more consistently. I've also started running outside on Wednesday evenings with Laura again and that's been really good. We've been out twice now and I'm really enjoying it. I don't really know what goal I'm working towards, aside from getting fitter, but that will come. I really think that the first race I enter will be for me. I'd like to run for charity in the future, but just getting a race under my belt, so to speak, is my first priority. After that I can focus on finding another race and fundraising. I had always thought running for a charity would motivate me more, but I think at the end of the day, it just muddied the waters a bit too much; at least in the beginning. As Laura aptly pointed out, I have a lot of things to get used to running in a crowd of people without having to worry about raising a certain amount of money for a charity. So, for now, I am going to find a race and run it for me and then after that I will run another for someone else. Part of my decision has come from a realisation that I thought I had internalised a long time ago; apparently I forgot. It's really important to do things for yourself. I.E., quitting smoking, losing weight Etc. Training and/or racing could be the same.
I had been running with a friend to help her get into better shape. When the excuses not to run kept coming up or when she kept telling people I was dragging her out, it became clear to me that I needed to do my own thing. I was getting faster and she wasn't improving at all. The last straw for me was when her excuse not to run was, "I already showered today." You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. So, instead of tailoring my workouts around her, starting today, I will do my own workouts. If she wants me to write her up some workouts, I can do that, but unless I run with her as a second workout in a day, I am done. Running with her had been enjoyable because we were outside and I got to run with another person, instead of running by myself on a treadmill, but if I actually want to run a half marathon or a full one in the future, I am going to have to switch gears.
Also, a woman I had been in contact with a while back is moving close to here and has suggested we train for a triathlon together. She's willing to be my guide and although I'm not sure if it will work out, I am really excited about at least trying. It sounds as though she's in better physical condition than me, so in order to catch up a bit, I need to actually improve. Running 3 minutes and walking 2 minutes which was what all my workouts with my friend consisted of, at the same pace week after week is not going to get me there. Since this woman wants to be competitive in the triathlon, I can't afford to hold her back either.
So, it's with all of this in mind that I prepare to head to the gym in the next little while to run some intervals on the treadmill. :)