Lacing up My Sneakers

I've decided to run a half-marathon, specifically the Brooklyn Half-Marathon on May 18th.  Registration for the race hasn't opened yet, though, so I'm finding myself a bit superstitious talking about my plans before I'm actually signed up and officially in.  Ah well, I suppose I will take my chances here on this highly-trafficked blog.

I imagine that some people would never consider running a 13.1 mile race, while others would think nothing of it, having run any number of races, even marathons perhaps.  I am somewhere in the middle.  It wasn't so many years ago that I had never run for pleasure or exercise outside of basic gym requirements in middle and high school.  I ran my first ever race in the fall of 2008 and have run only two more since then, the most recent being a 5-mile Turkey Trot this past Thanksgiving.

That experience has a lot to do, I think, with my decision to take on a half-marathon.  The day was unbelievably crisp, sunny, and gorgeous.  All 2000-some participants seemed in high spirits and the whole event felt like a celebration; it was the perfect way to spend the morning meditating on all that I have to be thankful for.  Greg and one of our friends also ran that day, and all three of us were pleased with our times and enjoyed ourselves.  I felt like a runner that day, like I had arrived.  Not so much to the end, but the beginning, rather.  I had arrived to a place where I finally feel like "runner" is a legitimate part of my identity and I'm not just a poser.

I tucked that thought away and then, two weeks ago while I was on vacation, my mind was quiet enough to let the "I could be a runner" thought peek its little head out and get my attention again.  And when you have spent three straight days napping on a beach, it logically follows that you will forever be well-rested and that training for a half-marathon will be simple and painless.  Um, yes...that's the logic of one too many piña coladas.

I'm now in my second week of training and so far oddly enjoying it.  More on this to come.  I am also eating carob chips by the handful as I type this, so...yeah.  Some things never change.