Los Angeles Marathon- The race that never was

Yes, its official now. I have backed out gracefully from running this. Many reasons but no excuses- I'm just plainly not prepared for this one.

Its time to start with a clean slate. I think the main reason I suceeded with the Portland Marathon was because I commited to it officially... so here i'm going to atleast commit to my goals for the next marathon- Chicago, in october 06.

But this time, I don't just want to run and finish the marathon. I want to set some more specific goals. My first thoughts are:
1. Speed/Time: Finish the marathon in 5 hours. To achieve this goal I'm going to enlist the help of Sanjose Fit- A running group.
2. Weight: My previous marathon was finished with finishing being the only goal. While I definitely got fitter, I can't say I lost a whole lot of weight. I didn't focus too much on healthy eating or any restraints. This time- I had better. My goal- reach 145lbs. This weight loss should not be at the cost of muscle loss- so onto goal 3.
3. Improve upper body strength with some sort of regular strength/resistance training. Specifc goal- 4 times a week.
4. Improve overall flexibility- Yoga. Specific goal - 4 times a week
5. Cross train- Running takes a serious toll and I need a good crosstraining sport to keep me fit when I'm not running. Sculling is the primary sport I have identified. Specific goal - 2 times a week. If I can't enlist, then my backup plan has got to be swimming.

Oh! lest I forgot, I need to continue with my day job. So I need to figure out how to fit all the above goals into my life.

San Jose Fit program doesn't start until April. So I should be back to running 8 miles for long runs without injuries before that.

Cheers... and heres to a 06 filled with doing these things that I love to do.