First Race of the Season

Not that this was really a big accomplishment, but it got me started . . . and now I'm trying to determine how far I want to go. I've been having fleeting thoughts of training for the Hartford Half Marathon that will take place in October. I'm not really sure what is possessing me to want to run a half marathon. I've never been a runner and I'm not even sure I really like it. There's no doubt that if I had my choice between biking and running I would always choose biking. But I seem to have this persistent itch to set a goal for myself – a challenging goal.

I remember the first time I decided that I wanted to "ride a century." This is a right of passage of every biker - to pedal 100 miles in one day. The first time I did it, it seemed like such a big deal. I trained all season for this big accomplishment and completing that ride was one of the sweetest feelings of my life. Of course, since then I biked several Centuries and none of them ever gave me that same thrill. It's also funny how all Centuries that followed never felt like a big deal and after doing it once you have a new-found confidence that you could "just do it." I'm hoping for this same experience with running.

The biggest reason for wanting to run a half marathon is simply to give myself a goal to which I can work toward. Nothing thrills me more than increasing my weights or reps in the gym or my mileage on the road. Maybe I'm just a statistic junkie, but I live for this. And then, of course, there's that bittersweet feeling of crossing the finish line and accomplishing the goal that I set for myself.

I have yet to commit to registering for the half marathon, but I'm setting an intermediate goal of running a race every month. If I do decide to go for the big run I will log and post my training efforts.