… Will we take the winter off from training. After almost 18 years of year-round training and having at least one big race a year, John & I took the Holidays off to be “normal”. Ha, we won’t be doing that again. Believe me when I say, “You lose fitness much faster than you build it.”

In March, we eased back into training for a half-marathon that a friend got us into, and both of us suffered injuries which sidelined us for several more weeks. This past weekend was the race and we both said we would take it easy, keep the heart rate in the zone, and even if we had to walk, we would cross the finish line.

We traveled to Vermont last week and ran a beautiful course called ‘covered bridges’ — the weather was absolutely perfect, sun shining but not too hot and the scenery was spectacular. The start was at a ski resort so most of the course went down hill. There were a few sharp inclines, but they barely registered because of the view. We ran along the river, through small towns, across bridges to finish in a quaint town called Quechee. And yes, we both finished! It felt really good to pin on our first 2009 number, and we got to share this race with 2000 other passionate runners.

Now that the running shoes have been dusted off, we’re ready to go. Next on the agenda, Disney World Half-marathon followed the next day by the Full Marathon. This isn’t scheduled until next january, so we’re going to have to find some in-between-races to keep us motivated. The motto from now on – Keep on runnin’!!

Whether you walk, run, ride, swim or hit the gym – get outside and enjoy the summer. Breathe the fresh air, feel the sun and wind on your face, and work up a sweat …

Until next time — hugs, Christine.