Long time no post

I'm well aware it has been almost 2 months of no posting from me.  I have had 0 motivation to keep up with blogging and I think most of you are my Facebook friends anyway, so you all know I'm alive. 

I have started a family blog that I plan to use as an archive for a family photo album.  I plan to post our family photos and adventures there and will make that public eventually.  For now my blogging there is in somewhat random order as I get to it.  I will also post here but in consolidated format. 

This week starts 2 weeks of vacation.  We have lots of fun family activities planned and I will be posting that insanity as is happens on Facebook. 

When I return from vacation it will be almost 4 months until the Dallas Marathon.  I am officially registered and have my training plan and build up races scheduled.  August begins official training season to meet my goal of qualifying and running the Boston Marathon (with a qualifying time).  In January 2012 I ran the Houston marathon in 3:37 and qualified for the 2012 Boston Marathon in April.  Of course, registration for Boston is in September so it was already too late to run in 2012.  Normally my time would have qualified me to run in 2013, but 2013 starts the new qualifying standards for Boston for all age groups.  My qualifying time for 2013 and 2014 would be less than 3:35.  If I want to run Boston in April 2014 I have to run a qualifying marathon time of 3:35 before September 2013.  Talk about planning in advance right? 

How am I training?  I am going to stay with the "Run Coach" website that I used last year to create my running schedule.  This is a great website that creates a schedule for you based on your current fitness and goals.  Since I have progressed in my fitness, the schedule is harder now.  I also contacted the coaches and asked specifically about my goal for a Boston qualifier.  They recommended running 5 days a week (vs. 4) and adding in an additional day of speed work.  This is similar to most advanced training plans I looked at.  5 days a week is new for me, I am a little nervous about the extra day of running.  I am also paying more attention to nutrition.  I am back on My Fitness Pal to track my calories.  I would like to stay around 135 pounds (134-138 is my anal retentive preference).  Now I am looking at more than just calories, but how to fuel for optimal performance.  I saw a nutritionist through Well @ Dell, who was pseudo helpful.  I am already at the right amount of carb/fat/protein for a normal person.  I would like to get more protein and less fat, focusing on eating more vegetables, smaller portions and cutting out the junk food.  I am also considering giving up alcohol, but I really don't drink much as it is, only the occasional beer, wine or margarita (that promptly puts me to sleep). 

Expect to see more training updates starting in August!