My 2011 Running Intention

**I wrote this 5 7 days ago and it's taken me this long to post!

I will run the BMO Half Marathon in May 2011

I've been really procrastinating about putting this in writing on my blog and potentially being held accountable but I'm sharing anyways because this goal has me pretty excited, and I think being excited about it means I have to do it.

I've decided to start a training plan in February for a half marathon. The BMO Half Marathon on May 1st to be exact. I'm so nervous about it because although I consider myself a runner, I am not a racer. Currently I can easily do 7-8km  (4-5mi) so I think that means I can stretch myself with training into 13.1 miles without injuring myself or quitting half way. My goal is simply to do the training consistently and methodically just how I did the learn to run training program that got me to 8km and then to run the BMO half marathon. 8km seemed daunting to me back in April when I started seriously running after the birth of my daughter and yet here I am. I think I'm not just afraid of the distance but also because it's my first race and it's something completely unknown to me. Also, I don't always have control over when I get to go out for runs so I'm a bit worried about getting 4 runs in a week and keeping up with the training plan.

The past year I've been very consistent with my running with the exception of December when I took the month off to have surgery. Really I chose December as the time to have minor surgery because I was already starting to feel unmotivated (check out this Runners World article) so I took advantage of my lack of motivation to regroup, rest and plan where I wanted to go with my running. It's so hard to stay motivated when you're not building anymore and stretching your abilities and it's dark and gloomy out. There are only so many months you can go with doing the same distances, speed and hills without getting bored. Since Christmas I've been running again and trying to regain my base which quickly deteriorated over the holidays and I'm feeling so invigorated (and sore). I've also started taking vitamin D which I really should have been doing all along to combat stress and to deal with the dark Wetcoast weather that made me feel like a zombie.

I'll keep you all posted with my training and how it's going. I'm currently looking at 3 different training plans (Running Room, Hal Higdon, Runners World) which I'll start sometime between next week and February 1st, depending on which one I choose. Really, I'm just looking to complete the distance and not be the last person across the finish line since this is my first race so I think I'll go with the most conservative plan. If you racers out there have any words of wisdom to share with me about training or racing I'd love to hear it. In the meantime, I've picked up this book 'Run Like A Mother' to give me inspiration along the way so I don't cop out and take the path of least resistance of just staying home when I feel overwhelmed with ma-thatic excuses.