June 3rd. in June Writing Challenge

last week, i lost my mind and decided to sign up for a half-marathon that was/is only 10 weeks away. i've run a max of 7 miles in the past.. um.. 2.5 years, and i'll basically need to double that distance over the course of the next two months. not REALLY a big deal, but since i haven't done a half marathon in almost three years, i'm feeling a little (LOT) out of shape when it comes to running.

i really NEEDED to have a TANGIBLE workout goal, though. i've been adhering to a minimum of 15 minutes per day of some sort of 'activity,' and 3-4 days per week i've been running for about 30 minutes. which is great. but listen, it hasn't made my pants fit any better. and the deal is that i'm taking two trips back to sunny minneapolis this summer, and one of those trips will involve lots of pool / lake time (read: SWIMSUIT) and the other is my :gulp: 20-YEAR REUNION.

the reality of that thing is that i stay in touch with a lot of my high school friends and everyone knows what's up thanks to FB, and they don't give a flying f how i look or how much i weigh. so i'm not real sure why I care so much if i'm in better shape by the reunion, but i do. (but really, who doesn't?)

so anyway, the half marathon is the same day as the reunion, which is kind of perfect because it gives me a goal on two levels. and also, it starts a few blocks away from where we'll be staying at my mom's house, and the course goes through and around my hometown, so i'm trying to think of it less as a race and more of a '2-hour running tour down memory lane.'

so today i ran 5 miles, but i built little speed drills into the run, so i'd start at 6.3 miles per hour and work my way up to 7.1 mph every five minutes and then repeat. overall, i averaged 9:10 per mile, which is not too shabby compared to where i've been for the past few months. so we're defintely on the right track. but 5 miles compared to 13.1 is quite a big difference. and i'm definitely not trying to get a personal best in this race. i'm more concerned with simply 'finishing it.'

and the other dumb thing is that two of our longer training runs occur when we're in MN for the first trip, so i'm basically bookending my 'vacation' with 90-120 minute runs in the MN heat & humidity. i'm super smart like that.

hanyway. i'm actually EXCITED to have a tangible workout goal. working out for fitness is nice and great, but i really want to a) fit in my pants and b) have a shiny medal that tells me i accomplished something in the eyes of someone else.

oh yeah, and impress (?) the people i graduated with from HIGH SCHOOL 20-YEARS AGO.

wish me luck.

Last updated June 03, 2014