let the games begin

I have officially registered and everything for my half marathon. The papers have been mailed in and the fees paid. There is no turning back now!

August 8th here I come!

Since it is official and all, I have also officially begun my training. 

Let me give you a little background on my running experience. I have hated running my whole life - really hated it. I am slightly asthmatic and not terribly athletically inclined. Running was always hard for me and was a lot of work. One of my new year's resolutions this year was to become a runner. I started out slow, just like you are supposed to, and I have been constantly working up. 

They say the first 2 miles are the hardest to get, but after that it gets increasingly easier to add on more miles. I would have to agree.  After I got the first 2 miles down, 3 miles and even 4 miles came without too much more effort. 

I think the milestone that no one mentions anything about is 5 miles. I ran 5 miles today for the first time ever. I was expecting it to be just like the last two miles that I had added on - relatively easy and strenuous in a good way, only adding on more time. Boy was I wrong! I was panting and wheezing 2 miles in. I did finish, but it was way more hard work than I expected to be. 

Now that I have reached that milestone, hopefully the next big ones will come too. And next time, I won't be expecting it to be a simple 6 mile run! 

Luckily, I have been increasing my endurance over the last few months so I can happily report that I am not going to give up simply because I had a hard day's run. 

I will conquer!