On the Road Again...

I finally started training again for my second half-marathon. My girlfriends and I are doing a girls' half-marathon Labor Day weekend. Hopefully, it will become something we can do annually and the number of girls will grow.

This time around, I am going to use Hal Higdon's Intermediate Training program which includes speedwork. I'm a bit nervous about it, since for my last half, I was only really worried about finishing.

So, for my own motivation, while running a grueling three miles yesterday, I started a list of "5 Reasons I Love Running."

1) I love having a goal in front of me that I have to work at to accomplish. It makes me feel good about myself to know that I pushed myself to do something that not everyone can do.

2) I love the camaraderie of the running community. There is always something to talk about with another runner, whether it is your next race, your last race, your pace time, your running shoes, whatever. There is an enthusiasm that drives me. I love waking up early to get out there and see other runners who have the same commitment. Even if its just a smile, you know that you both share something, they are working toward a personal goal as well.

3) I love feeling the connection to my body. Since I started running, I am intuitively connected to every muscle in my body. I feel every twitch and have to think about what it is and what it may lead to. I love having a particularly hard run and then totally feeling it in my legs and back the next day. The pain becomes addictive because you know it means you worked hard.

4) I love running because it gives me time to share secrets with myself. While running, I am thinking about all kinds of things in my head. Anything from blog posts I want to write to what I should have said when that guy bumped me in the elevator the day before. When I finish that run, I have no idea what I thought about. It leaves my mind and may or may not ever come back again.

5) Lastly, I love being totally in tune with my surroundings. While running, you have to recognize every crack in the road, every slight hill coming up, every pothole that might be lead to a fall. You must recognize landmarks to know how far you have run along your route. Along with topography, you must be in tune with the weather daily, knowing when is the best time to run, when with the temperature be the friendliest. It makes me appreciate wherever I am a little bit more when I have to recognize these things.

I'll keep you updated on my progress through the next three months of training in the miserable New Orleans summer heat!