A Half Marathon?

Did I absolutely LOSE MY MIND? A half marathon at age (to be) 39? Not that it's out of the ordinary to run a half or full (or further) at this age, it's just that I've been a cyclist for so long that I just don't run that far anymore. That, and the simple fact that my body quickly rebels since a car accident in '92 messed up my back bad. I have tried on a few occasions to get back into the running shape that led me to run two marathons back in 1990. Once I hit about the six mile mark, my back starts saying things that make me blush, and I didn't even know that my back could talk!

So, for the most part, my jogging has been easy jogs of 2-4.5 miles, and not very often at that. With my love of two wheels being so strong, running is just one of those things that I do on occasion to punish myself for not going harder on the bike. I have not run 6 miles in probably 10 years at least.

And now, for the rest of the story (my apologies to Paul Harvey). A couple of weeks ago, we received an email at work from our health benefits that stated that they would pay the entry fee to the Deadwood Marathon or 1/2 Marathon in June for all state employees provided we registered by Feb. 3rd. I started talking to some of the runners (and bikers) that we should do this. Okay, not just talking...talking smack! A guy who hasn't run over 6 miles in 10 years started picking on select individuals saying that I can not only do this, but beat them! Am I INSANE?

Well, some of them are now asking what the wager will be. Rut ro....open mouth, insert foot! As I have been trying to run 2-3 times a week, I have been struggling to push over 3.5 miles of continuous running. I know it's okay to walk some, but that is SO not me. I still want to be that competitive guy that I used to be (within reason). So, I will push on with the training in which I have described to Laura as my LAST serious effort to run longer distances again. I'm happy with my shorter runs, but want to give 6+ miles one more good go, especially now that Laura is getting to be such a good massage therapist!

Today was the final push. Cindy messaged me with the link to the registration pdf of the Deadwood 1/2 Marathon. I told her it was a very "subtle" hint. She said that is was no hint. I said, "It isn't"? She said "no". Hmmm...how to take this. Without anymore being said, I printed off the registration, filled it out, and walked it down and handed it to Cindy who already had hers filled out. Joe was in the process of filling his out too. So now...IT'S ON! Me and my big mouth! I will never learn. I can always seem to motivate others to do these type of things, but often, like this particular experience, it is at MY expense as well.

Wish me luck, may the fun begin!