In case I forgot to mention it...

... I registered for a half-marathon race.  Me.  That's right.  I know!  Crazy, right?
 
I'm not sure what got into me a few weeks ago but I saw something about the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series and decided why the hell not...  I was in a bit of a lull at the time with my work outs.  This was a few weeks after I reached my initial weight loss goal (losing 15 lbs in 8 weeks back in April) and while I was still exercising, I wasn't going at it as whole-hearted as I could have been.  So, I decided to set a new goal.  A half marathon sounded like a great idea.

I'm fortunate that a good friend of mine has been right by my side for a while in the fitness trenches.  She says I inspired her to get fit and back into exercising.  Being an inspiration to others is not something I planned on happening, but ya know what, that's pretty cool.  I'm also fortunate that this friend was willing to also throw herself to the marathon wolves and register for this event.

We've been training a bit over the last few weeks.  We are doing regular work-out routines (as usual) on our own and then doing a Sunday 'long run' together.  Here's the kicker... we're walking.  Both me and my friend are pretty new at getting back into exercise and we don't come from running backgrounds, so we decided that we would start by walking.  Now, don't get me wrong, we're not just lolly-gagging along and strolling down the road.  No way.  We are hauling ass.  Averaging 3.5-4.0 mph and last week we completed 8 miles; we've got 9 scheduled for this upcoming Sunday. 

Neither of us have ever competed in any type of run/walk/race event so we're not setting any time goals besides finishing.  We need to complete 13.1 miles in under 4 hours.  Currently, the speed is not an issue as we're averaging a 16:30 mile (just walking) and the slowest we can go to not be kicked off the course is 18:32.  Our main concern (well, mine for sure!) is stamina.  I won't lie, last week was rough.  My body definitely knew this was the farthest it had gone before.  At about done at 6.5 miles it became a little bit of a struggle but I made it through all 8 at a steady pace and, although immediately after I was sore and tired and thought I might die, I felt good later that day and the following.  Last week was also extraneous circumstances as not only was the longest distance we had done previously only 6 miles, but we missed the previous week's walk when I was feeling under the weather.

I decided to post about this today as we are 50 days away from the event.  50.  Wow.  I'm nervous, that is for sure.  I do consider trying to add running into the mix, but I'm afraid.  We all know what happened last time I tried to run and I don't want to go there again.  For now, I'm going to stick with walking and not getting hurt.  I really think we can do this.  We better do this.  We're going to do this!! 

If you're in Savannah on November 5th, come on down and cheer us on.