4730

That is my bib number for the Mannheim Half-Marathon.  Am I crazy?  I'm not a runner.  I shouldn't have a bib number for a half-marathon!

Last year our family went down to the finish line of the Mannheim Half and cheered as our friends finished their race.  There was a light show, live bands, fest tents and a whole bunch of excitement.  Matt and I looked at each other and I said "I want to do this next year!"  

I started my 12 week training plan mid-January with a few extra weeks to spare but something happened and I stopped, then we took a few trips, Matt left, I got sick, Matt's mom came to visit and the countdown clock for the race reached 31 days.  At this point I barely logged 10 miles a week and I was in no condition to run the race.

I asked Matt to be completely honest and tell me if he thought I could train enough in 30 days to run the half.  He said "yes".  I said "really?" and he said "definitely".  So with the encouragement of my dear husband I signed up and went for a run.

My "training schedule" is a mess.  I don't have enough time to follow a 6 or 8 week plan so I'm just doing my best to log the miles with a few long runs and some 4-5 mile runs each week.  

Yesterday I threw my gear on and loaded up my support team (Eli) with gatorade, a granola bar, some water and my cell phone and we left the house at 4:55pm.  Around 5:45pm we had to place an emergency call to the route planner (Matt) to give me some directions, and at 6:00pm the rain started.  We were soaking wet and just barely over halfway to our goal of 10 miles.  Thankfully the rain stopped to give a little reprieve, and we arrived back home at 6:52pm.  Eli rode and I ran 10.4 miles at just under an 11 minute mile pace.  I call it running but it is probably technically more of a jog!  Who cares?  I ran my 10 miles and I felt really great doing it.  I'm sure I could have done another mile without crying.

So here I am three weeks out from the race, I got my first 10 mile run under my belt and ran a total of 27 miles this week!  Woo hoo.  For the first time since last year when I first said I wanted to run this half-marathon, I actually believe that I can and I will.  It won't necessarily be very quick but I'm going to start and finish strong!