the wonderful world of veena.

23 December 2013

1/2 marathon monday: because apparently I am a glutton for punishment.

Yep, I'm back.

After my half marathon in October, I've been slowly toying with the idea of running another. It's partly the running bug, and it's also partly that I know I'm always better at keeping up with my running if I have something specific to train for.

After my 10k in 2012 and after my run in October, I took some time off from running in the weeks that followed to give my body a chance to recover. But then as the first week stretched into the second and eventually a third, it took more and more to motivate me to get out and run. Especially this year, when the two weeks after were so crazy, and then I went to India. I ran a few times while I was in Coimbatore, but then with only 5 days in Bangalore and 4 in Bombay, there just wasn't enough time. And so I got out of the habit.

I had a pretty bad cold when I first returned from India, so that kept me from getting back into it. And then the weather was super cold, and I was just too lazy to put on all the requisite layers to just run a few miles. So I didn't.

I missed entering the lottery for the DC Nike Women's Half, because I was waiting to hear back about a job in India. Needless to say, the job didn't work out, and I suddenly see myself being in the States for the foreseeable future. I knew I needed some motivation to keep up with my running and workouts, and so I finally decided to bite the bullet and register for another half.

It occurred to me on Saturday night that the Little Rock half would be a good option. It's close, so travel wouldn't be to expensive, and it's the first weekend in March, when it's usually still a bit cool. The 10k last year was pretty fun, and I've heard the half is pretty flat, so I was considering signing up for it.

Enter Julie Clary. We were at a baby shower on Sunday afternoon for Walker, and Julie told me she had just registered for the half in Little Rock. When I mentioned I was thinking about it, I got a very enthusiastic "You totally should!" Being the kind of person who never gives in to peer pressure, that was just enough to push me over the edge. And so yesterday evening, I finally took the plunge and registered.

While I was out for a quick run this afternoon [look at that motivation already at work!], it occurred to me that this training will be significantly different from the last one. Where I had 4 months and a structured training plan to ease myself into the long distances before, I now have 2 months [one of which is February, so that pretty much means it doesn't count] and only my own schedule to get ready for the next one. That means that I need to be back to running 5-6 miles by next weekend. Yikes.

I've mapped out a tentative schedule for my long runs for the next 8 weeks, and while I probably won't do a weekly update like I did for the first one, I will likely check in every few weeks or so with an update on how it's going and whether or not my legs are still attached to my body.

So here we go, half marathon #2.
Little Rock, here I come.
xx

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