In a Pig’s Eye… or Perhaps at Hogeye

“Never say never, for if you live long enough, chances are you will not be able to abide by its restrictions. Never is a long, undependable time, and life is too full of rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it.”

―Gloria Swanson

During the past 24 hours, I’ve added a new twist to my training plan… Another goal to my list.

It looks like I’ll be running a half marathon in March. The Hogeye Marathon in Fayetteville, Arkansas. March 29, 2015.

Say WHAT???

It isn’t as radical of a goal as it might sound.

On second thought… A bit of history.

I started running in 1980. I was obsessed ran regularly for the first twenty years — even through two pregnancies. I competed at distances from 5K (3.1 miles) to full marathons (26.2 miles).

I even won the women’s 35-39 age group title for the Arkansas Grand Prix Road Racing Series in 1993.

Since my divorce, in 2001, I haven’t been as fanatical regular with my training. I sometimes take breaks for years months.

Oh, yeah. One more thing…

I NEVER run in the winter.

This winter I will have to run if I’m going to complete a 13.1-mile race in March without death or — even worse — embarrassment.

The mileage doesn’t intimidate me, but the winter/cold/ice running sure does.

My knees hurt just thinking about it…

In case you’re wondering, this all came about because of a friend. She lives 500 miles away and I haven’t seen her for over ten years and she wants to run a half marathon for her 40th birthday and…

The timing of the Hogeye fits with her “40th birthday” goal. Besides — she went to college in Fayetteville (only an hour from where I live).

She sent me a message on Facebook yesterday, asking if I was game. I was shocked to realize my interest in running went from zero to hero in less than sixty seconds…

In other words — I said, “Yes!”

But I woke up in the middle of the night, asking myself, “What was I thinking??!!”

This morning my husband found me checking out training plans.

Race Day is 27.5 weeks from now. I decided to combine two training plans: a 10-week plan for a 5K (starting from scratch) and a 12-week plan for a half marathon. The extra weeks will be for building a better base before starting the half marathon training.

(Note: In case you’re wondering, I found a training plan that works well with my current strength training program… So I will be doing both at the same time. This is NOT “bait and switch”! ;))

I haven’t run for a couple of months, so I want to ease into it.

I COULD run a 5K tomorrow if I tried, but I’ve usually taken a “minimum effective dose” mindset toward running. I’ve avoided injury for 34 years, so why change? I will be 58 years old by Race Day, so NOW isn’t the time to mess with my conservative approach to training.

My Biggest Concern (No Pun Intended)

The main reason I haven’t been running is I’ve gained about 20 pounds since last summer. I’m at my all-time, non-pregnant heaviest weight.

I didn’t run much last year (I focused on strength), and when I ran in the spring, I could feel the extra weight in my knees. Those knees already have 35 years of running on them, in addition to the 57 years of “old age”.

This morning I ran/walked 2.40 miles. It went well.

I hope I can say the same for the next training run… and the run after that… and so on.

I’m curious to see how this all works out…. Will my body hold up to running in the cold weather? Will my friend Morgan stick with the training? Will we make the cut for the registration?

To be continued… 😉