A Plan

Well, at least the beginnings of one. Two things to start with - diet and base work outs.

Diet: I am going to follow the Paleo Diet for a while at least. My husband went on it months ago - prescribed by his physician to help cure a yeast imbalance in his body. He dropped 20 lbs and lowered his cholesterol even though he stopped taking his meds which were causing severe side effects. I am hoping for a jump start on weight loss and the diet is easy to follow - especially in the summer when grilling comes natural and wonderful fruit and fresh veggies are available in abundance. The basics are - lean meats, fish, veggies, greens, fruits and nuts. Occasional eggs. No sugar, no starch - no grains - no dairy. There is a modified version of this diet - tailored to endurance athletes - it adjusts for the need of sugar during and after exercise.
Should make trips to the grocery store fast too - produce and meat counter :-) !
My post workout indulgence will be Greek Yogurt - not on the paleo list for obvious reasons - but on my list and hardly a bad food.

Base Work Outs: Yes, I am starting from scratch. I have to build up my running slowly - lest that darn Achilles bites me again. I also am not ready to join the Y or Club again - so swimming will wait for a few months yet. Cycling - outdoors will largely consist of outings with my husband on local trails - riding a hybrid bike. Indoors, I have my road bike on a trainer - so time will be spent there for focused workouts. I do need to do core work - and build some lean muscle so the next few weeks will be 15-30 minutes on the Erg (erging is a great substitute for swimming) 5 days a week, followed by 30-60 minutes of cycling on the trainer or running plus a 20 minute session of Kettle Bell (I have Kettleworx on DVD) at least 3 days a week. Probably a few push ups and planks to work that core too. This should achieve the goals I have for the next couple of months.

Key will be being realistic and flexible with the schedule - I travel pretty regularly so have to adjust my workouts to what is available. Not to say that I can't pack a kettle bell and my dvd - or better yet, rip the dvd and store the workout on my tablet. The out of town mornings then I skip the erg and go for a run - indoors our out - whatever works and do my strength and core workout. When at home, I have access to all of my tools and no excuses - the workouts will be posted here along with with dietary successes and/or failures - whatever it turns out to be.
I'll spare the boring details but will post when something really works.

So - training starts tomorrow but preparation starts today. I am going to dust off the erg and bike and get things ready for an easy - hello, I am back - kind of workout. For sure there are a few easy running miles on the schedule today.