Soooo ... I'm Training for a Half Marathon

So yeah, I'm training for a half marathon.

I have been meaning to keep a consistent blog throughout my training, but here it is almost April and I started my training in February. At least one post before the race is good enough right?

I'm training for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. It takes place on May 3rd. It will be the 2nd time I run it. Last year was the first. For me training for a long distance race is a whole different beast from my other workouts. I say positive things to myself in order to push further, but I don't really have that much time to get lost in my thoughts during these workouts. There are so many things I have to think about like make sure you're using good form, land softly, use your arms for momentum, keep your core tight, breath, are you going hard enough, one more rep, oh yeah and you're not tired. When you're running...for hours...it's just you, your breathe and your brain. It takes a whole different focus for me to do. When I'm training I know that I'm building my body up physically to be able to run 13.1 miles, but it has helped to strengthen my mentality as well.

Last year was challenging, because I had never run in a long distance race before. So i didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what I was capable of doing. That was the whole reason why I wanted to challenge myself. I needed to step out of my comfort zone and prove to myself that I am capable of doing more. I have no idea of what this is going to be like, but I'm pretty sure I'm strong enough to do it.

This year's training has been a whole new challenge with the winter most of us have experienced, and still experiencing. I've learned a lot about my willingness and determination. What I've learned is that it's come a long way since the beginning of my fitness journey. I've also learned that it's kind of fun to run in the snow, if the road looks wet in this kind of weather it's probably really ice, it hurts to fall on ice, my hair does freeze when it gets sweaty and I never thought I would be happy about 30 degree weather.

I think the best lesson I've learned so far from this training is don't let other people's excuses, reasons why they won't or can't become your own. I can run in the dark. I can run in the snow and cold. It's not ideal conditions, but I made a goal and a promise to myself. I'm going to show up everyday in order to reach it. Plus now that I've been through all of that a warm sunny day makes my run all that easier.