Working it Out Wednesday

In January 2006 when I was several months pregnant with Jadyn, Joe ran the Carlsbad marathon and I was so very proud of him. I was also jealous. While I hadn't ran since I was a sophomore in high school, I love walking for exercise. I vowed that weekend that someday I would at least walk a half marathon. I guess you can kind of say it is one of those things that is on my personal bucket list.

Over the last year I have really been trying to exercise on a consistent basis and this was stepped up a notch in September when school started back up and the weather (kind 0f) started to cool down. But in November my wheels really started turning when LauraC invited me to join her in Phoenix over MLK weekend for the half marathon she was running. I was tempted. Really, really tempted. I started researching training schedules and finding someone close by who might be interested in training with me. It was during that time I discovered that both Scottie and Ali were thinking about running a half marathon locally in Palm Springs on Valentine's Day. I also found out that my friend Solinda (Jake's best friend Sam's mom) was very interested in training with me.

So to cut to the chase, although many of you already know this, I am officially announcing on my blog that I am training to walk a half marathon in February. I have been very reluctant to tell the masses about this endeavor, simply because I kept thinking that something would derail my efforts but after going on several of the distance walks now, I think I can safely throw my hat in the ring. I opted for the half marathon in Palm Springs for several reasons - more local means I can come home afterwards and recoup more easily, it was much less expensive and they didn't have a time limit on finishing, not to mention the extra time to train, which turned out to be paramount since I completely got off track during the holidays.

And although I am not participating in the half marathon in Phoenix, I just simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet Laura in person, so I am super excited that this weekend I am going to have my very first (and hopefully not last) blog friend meet-up.

Finally, to keep up my motivation after the half marathon, I also joined Laura and Erin's challenge to walk//run/bike/move 500 miles in the year 2010. So far, this has been a great kick in the butt to go on those walks and jump on that treadmill, even when I don't feel like it. I don't really plan on being a true contender for racking up the miles but if I can average 10 miles a week, I can reach my goal and do so in a super fun and supportive environment. And given that Laura and her friend Erin started the challenge and the fact that I pushed the whole half marathon to the back of my mind before Laura mentioned it, I owe her a huge thank you. I wouldn't be doing this if it were not for her and I cannot wait to thank her in person this weekend.