Rambling and Running

Oh by the way, I signed up to do NaBloPoMo for the month of June. For the uninitiated, NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month, and it requires that you commit to posting every day for a month. My more long-term readers may recall that I did NaBloPoMo in November 08 as well, and it resulted in some incredibly insightful writing. Everyone who read those posts were instantly changed for the better, and some decided to name their children after me. (Actually, I don't recommend following that last link because I haven't screened those posts for quality and I'm pretty sure my standards were much lower back then, so I don't want you to be retroactively disappointed. If you are disappointed, let's just assume that someone broke into my blog and replaced my really fantastic posts with hackneyed blather.) Ok, I've already gotten off track here. What I'm trying to say is: NaBloPoMo 2010! Put on your Big Kid Undies, because things are about to get REAL.

In other news, I mentioned a few weeks ago that I signed up to run a half marathon. It's at the beginning of September, which gives me about 14 more weeks to train. I've already been training for two and a half weeks, and I'm pretty sure I could run it tomorrow. (Note: I definitely could not run it tomorrow.) Unlike a full marathon, which is 26.2 miles, a half marathon is a much more manageable 13.1 miles. Thirteen miles is really no big deal, especially when you have a PLAN. I am a big believer in plans, and I have obtained one from the Runner's World SmartCoach Training thingamajig. So basically all I have to do is do exactly what the plan says, and 'trust the process,' and voila! Instant (half) marathoner.

What the plan says, basically, is that I have to run three times per week. (I can mix in cross-training on the off days if I like, but a) what is cross-training? and b) nobody likes an overachiever.) Twice a week I run relatively short distances, and then on the weekends I have a long run. The fascinating thing about training to run 13 miles is that pretty quickly your long runs go from 'long' to 'looooooong,' and your short runs go from 'short' to 'only short in comparison to what you have to run on Sunday.' Since I'm only 2 weeks in, my runs are still totally do-able, but this weekend I'll be running the longest distance I've ever run (4 miles, which I've only done once before), and then from there on out I'm charting entirely new territory. Thus far, the only problem I'm having is that my wonky feet are very prone to really gross blisters, but I'll let you know as new obstacles crop up. If I die, I want you to tell my family I love them, and divide my books amongst yourselves.