Half Marathon? But, I'm Not Ready!

My friend, Janice, texted me this morning to see if I was interested in running a Half Marathon with her.  Am I interested?  Yes!  Am I ready? Not even close.  At this point, I'm not even ready for a 5k race...at least not barefoot.  

Hmmmmm, but what if I consider it cross training?  Increasing my cardio is a good thing, right?  Padded shoes work different muscle groups, so I wouldn't be likely to run into the same injuries as last summer.  If I keep my slow paced build up for the transition to minimalist running, I can see a barefoot 5k and 10k as realistic goals for 2013.  But what about this half marathon?  A full marathon has been on my Bucket list forever...and I'm not getting any younger...

Committing to this race with Janice is scary because a Half is 13.1 miles.  My longest run EVER was 8 miles.  For the last couple years, my max distance has been 1.5 miles, so clearly I have some work to do.  If I start training on Friday I could be more than ready for the Half in May, so why not?  Ambitious?  Yep.  Three runs a week means significantly adjusting my social schedule, but it would be fantastic just to be able to say I did it. Bragging rights are very important where I'm from!

So...I just registered and downloaded the training schedule you see below.  I'll have to modify it, but now I have a rough game plan.  No expectations on the time, it's just about completing the event.  I say that to keep the pressure off, but even as I type I know that's not exactly true.

Image Source: Dream in Motion website

I will run the Half in traditional shoes, following the example of other (better) runners who have moved between minimalist and padded running shoes as they make the transition to barefoot running.  Plus, I read somewhere that changing up your running technique during a longer race may actually be beneficial.  Gives your quads a break when you move to the forefoot strike, and gives your calves and arches a break when you move to the padded heel strike.

It's decided, today is Day One of my Half training...wish me luck!  Also, some prayers to stay injury free would be greatly appreciated!

Barefoot Progress Report -

• .25 mile walk
• .75 mile run
• .5 mile walk

Total Distance - 1.5 miles

Total Time - 21'06"

Half Marathon Training Progress Report -

• Warmed up with Barefoot conditioning routine above
• 1 mile run (10'04")
• .25 mile walk

Total Distance - 1.25 miles

Total Time - 14'20

NOTE:  It takes waaaaay more effort to run in traditional sneakers!