New Goal

So since the PRoNE 5K run, I've been very... lazy.  I've been to the gym here and there and gone to a bunch of yoga classes, but really... I've been taking it easy.  This past week, I have had a cold, so I haven't exercised since Monday.  I also have been working very late hours which hasn't helped.

Well my friend Tim (the one who won the PRoNE 5K) emails me the other day asking if I want to run a "Half-Mary" which apparently is his auto-corrected way of asking me to run a half-marathon. I did a little research (check out http://www.halfmarathons.net/ for half marathons all over the country!) and found one in Jersey City, NJ.

The Newport Liberty Half Marathon

Here is the course map:

I want to do this one because it's in Jersey City.  Cameron and I are getting married in Jersey City on October 14, right in Liberty State Park.  The hotel we'll be staying at is by Newport and all the weekend events will be along this course route.  I get very tied to places (as you can tell by my love of Boston, and my last post professing my love of NYC) and think it would be really cool to do my first half-marathon in the city I will be getting married in just weeks later.

Also, JC is conveniently 2 PATH stops away from us.  And this will be a great opportunity for me to get to know the area a little bit before the wedding.  If I can run from the hotel to the venue, I should know how to direct a bus or a cab!

So... new goal... to run a half-marathon.  This is a serious one.  I need to train for it.  I emailed Tim, and he will be crafting me a training plan that I need to stick to.  To help me stick to that... I'm going to start post my training plan here when he and I make it, and then every week, I'll post what I should be doing and if I did what I was supposed to do the week before.

My plan is to exercise 5x/week - 3 runs, 1 cross training (most likely bike because I'm not a fan of the elliptical), and one class.  In addition to this...one of my runs will be... wait for it... A PRE-WORK RUN.  I'm a bad sleeper, so I don't want to start getting up super early every day of the week, but I also don't want to give up every single afternoon/evening of my week on those weeks where we go away for the weekend.  I'll compromise - I'll get up earlier once a week and run, so then I only have 4 days a week to exercise after work.

Do you think I'll be able to manage wedding planning and half-marathon training this summer?  What do you think of the course?  How do you stay on track to meet your goals?