Progress

So I am officially signed up for the Tour de Pain: Extreme for March 29 and 30th!! I couldn't be more excited for these races. While the medals and tshirts help the cause, this is more about the challenge.

I'm sitting here on my couch next to my puppy in all of my race gear waiting to see if I have to run 11 miles by myself or with my running buddy. I don't know if you just read that, but I'm about to run 11 miles. 11 miles!!! Can you believe that??? Yes, I've run a half marathon already. No, I'm not new to the distance. This is different though. I feel like I'm training for the first time for real.

When I trained for the Princess Half marathon in 2012 I could probably use the term "train" loosely. Yes, I printed a plan, I gave myself a month to get up to running 3 miles, and I was as ready as a non runner could be to run. About a month before the race my schedule got crazy and I stopped training. The longest run I had before I stopped was 7 miles. This is still a good distance, but it is still 6 miles short of a half marathon. Needless to say, the half marathon was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My mile times were all over the place. When I started I was at low 11 and by the time I got to 7 or 8 I was getting up to 14, 15, and 16 minute paces. I was able to speed back up to about 12 or 13 for the last few miles, but it wasn't fun.

Ignore my messy desk!

I was not prepared!!! Preparation is key. If you're not ready you could really hurt yourself. I just wanted to run the race and get the medal. From then on I was hooked on Disney races and trying to better myself.

I did train for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 miler. I actually lost a bit of weight doing so. I stuck to my training and began to figure out my pacing. The race had other plans for me though. The humidity and the boring course had me at high 11 minute pace when I had been training at around a 10:30. It was very disappointing.

So this is my first chance to really prove myself. After coming off my injury I'm ready to do big things. I have my 2:30 goal for the half in mind and I couldn't be more excited. I've come so far since I started training for the first half and I have grown and become the athlete I once was. Running is my new best friend and I have a feeling we're going to go very far together.

Until next time!