Running a Half

So I decided to take the plunge this morning and sign up for the National Half-Marathon on March 20. I am definitely a bit nervous tackling this new distance. The Army Ten Miler rocked, and if I had been feeling a bit better, I am confident I could have made my nine-minute mile time. But now I'm hoping to not only accomplish that goal mile, but do it for 13.1 miles! Eeek!!

One factor that drew me to this course is that it goes practically past our house, down H street to 13th NE. I remember this past March seeing the half-marathoners (and full marathoners!!) and thinking gosh, can I do that? And this past Sunday, on a gloriously warm November morning run to the Lincoln Memorial and back, I saw the runners go past the Capitol. And maybe I could do that?

The challenge will be trying to run outside in winter, because running outside gives me more energy. I ran quite a bit outside this past winter, but it was mild and I was lucky. This year, who knows? And the other challenge is daylight...I hate the winter and it get dark at 5:00pm. I already missing being able to run after work. Treking to the gym does give me the advantage of being able to do speed intervals, or hill intervals. And in the long run, that will help me conquer some of those kinds of obstacles in a longer race.

Anyway, I am looking forward to it. It'll be my last year in the 30-34 category! And if kids are in the future, I want to say I could run 13.1 miles before. And after, if I'm that lucky.