Running A Half Marathon

Apparently there is some form of drug growing in, near, or around my house that is embedding me with a sense  of "I can do anything!" bravado that will more than likely end in my downfall.  First substitute teaching and now this.

My neighbor M.  is training to run a half marathon--13 miles--in December in South Carolina. Her husband is a marathon runner and is one of those people who when he says he is going for a "quick run," means he's going to pound out 10-15 miles.  Riiiight.

But M., who is not by any means in tip-top shape, is training for this half-marathon. She's focusing on her time. Right now, she's running 61 minutes w/out stopping and her goal is to run a little longer each time.

It has always been a dream of mine to complete a marathon.  I've never actually done anything about it, but it's still a dream. Blair doesn't get this. "Why would you want to exhaust and torture yourself for some race?" he asks.

"So you can say that you did it," I answer.  "For the satisfaction of knowing that you accomplished your goal. for bragging rights that you've done something few other people can say they have done. You do it for the magnificence of it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 About this time I notice he's hiding from me upstairs.

I of course have to map out a plan. If I start off at 3 miles (which is what I can run now before requiring medical attention) and up my running amount by 1/2 mile every 8-10 days, I can be ready by December.  I think I'd need to run at least every other day. Yikes. That's a whole lot of exercise I'm not sure I can commit to.

The other thing I'd need to do is to start running outside. I love the air-conditioned world of my treadmill, plus I have the ability to lose the hills if I so desire. But treadmill running is soooo much easier than real-world running.

My neighbor may have the right idea with focusing on time instead of miles, at least to start with.  I'm going to try running with her one or two nights this week and see how I do. If my heart bursts, we'll know the half-marathon is out. If I hang with her...hmmmm.  Maybe a half-marathon is in my future.

I definitely need to scout out around the house and destroy those drugs.