Last Race of 2012 and First Race Planned for 2013

This past Sunday I ran in my last race of 2012. It was listed as a 4-mile race (turned out to be 3.7, which means my pace kind of sucked) in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I had never been to Prospect Park, and certainly had never run in it, so this was a new experience for me.

The race was a Jingle Bell Jog, which helps raise money for Toys for Tots. They even had a booth at the start/finish where you could donate toys for the charity. Because this was a kid-friendly race, there were a lot of kids and entire families participating. It had a really festive feel to it.

It was nice to run somewhere other than Central Park, but I don’t plan on participating in another race there. The road in Prospect Park is slanted, I guess to prevent puddles in the middle of the road, but for a runner like me who normally runs on the side of the road during races, this could be a problem. Because I am not fast, I usually stick to one side to allow those faster than me to pass. However, a slanted road can really cause an injury, so I was forced to move to the middle of the road. Also, I traveled a much farther distance than I usually do to participate in the race. It was nice to run though and complete my last race of the year.

It was especially nice to finish this race because it was the last race I needed to qualify for the 2013 New York City Marathon! (Why else would I have traveled over 2 hours for a race that I would finish in half that time?) Yes, I ran a total of 8 (it would have been 9 if the Dash to the Finish 5K, which I was supposed to run the day before the marathon, wasn’t cancelled) New York Road Runners events and volunteered for another. I also ran two other non-NYRR races this past spring, bringing my total to 10 road races this year. I am glad and proud that I completed this goal and that I was able to. I never would have imagined completing a single race when I started Weight Watchers; forget about 10 of them!

And I have already started planning for 2013. As I wrote in my last blog post, I plan on running/walking a half marathon. Well, I have taken some steps to start on that journey. I now have a gym membership. The last gym membership I had was in 2010 and I went maybe a dozen times. I realized it was because it just wasn’t convenient for me. I also don’t love the gym, but I need to cross train on certain days so I can continue to get exercise in and get stronger without wearing out my legs and causing injury. I can weight train or use the stationary bikes or even take a class. Winter is also approaching, and although I prefer to run/walk outside, it is better to run on a dreadmill (yes, you read that correctly!) on my shorter, weekday runs than not run at all. I also got a membership where I can go to any location and there is one near my office and one not far from home.

I also took a blank calendar and indicated what I should be doing each day (since each day I do something different). When I was planning my training, I consulted with WW leader extraordinaire Melanie (you might remember that I mentioned that she’s run 10 marathons and about a zillion other races) on how I should approach the training and when I should start. The training schedule I found was for 12 weeks, but because it’s my first half marathon and because I’ll be training in winter, she suggested I start sooner, giving me a longer training schedule.

I also started my training schedule this week. EEEEEEEKKKKK!!! (I’m Sorry, but I just had to be a bit of a girl for a second.) The first few weeks I will be training for about 45-50 minutes and my long runs/walks to be four to five miles. I’m not nervous or anything about the next few weeks, but I am for what’s to come in the next few months. I’m also just so excited because of all of the new things I am about to experience. It also means that by starting my training, I am committing to this 100% and that can be scary (in such a good way).

Over the next three and one-half months, I will be stepping way out of my comfort level so many times. I will be testing my body for all it can do. I will need to track my food and water intake so carefully as it is so easy to overeat when you are training (thank you for already giving me this WW!). And I will be trying different sports drinks, gels and fueling devices to see which work best for me.

Yes, I am excited and nervous, but I am also so eager to experience all of these things. Yes, I could have continued only doing 5Ks and 4-milers (and I plan on doing a bunch of those as well) for 2013, but I won’t really ever see what I’m capable of if I never push myself to do more.