You can run a half marathon! Yes, I mean YOU!

Some of you may know that I started a blog a little over a year ago about my running adventures (www.newbierunnerconfessional.blogspot.com).  I started running in September 2010, and in December of that year, I started writing about it.  It was nice to get out my feelings and frustrations about running, and it's so great to be able to look back at older entries and see how far I've come.  If you are on a similar journey, I highly recommend writing things down along the way.  You can write for this blog if you want, we're always welcoming new contributors.  I think I'm going to retire that blog and move my posts over here.  I don't write as much as I used to because after the first few months of running, things move a lot slower.  There's a lot less to write about.  So, I will probably post here from now when something new is going on with me.  I'm not such a "newbie" runner anymore.

So much has changed since I started that blog.  I really remember hating running back then.  I remember it being a means to an end (calorie burn/exercise), but there was nothing I really enjoyed about it.  (I wish I had known about Couch to 5K!)  I was trying to describe this to a friend the other day who started running, and I told her she would be doing half marathons before she knew it.  She laughed it off, and said said running was a means to an end (calorie burn also), but she would never do it "for fun".  It sounded SO famililar.  I told her she should read my blog from a year and a half ago.  When I first started, I also hated running (most of the time) and could NEVER imagine running a half marathon.  Isn't a half marathon just about impossible?  Isn't that for amazing, elite athletes that look like Greek gods and goddesses? 

In a word.....no. 

Half marathons are full of normal people.  Young people, old people.  Big people, little people. People like you.  People like me.  I ran my first half marathon seven months after I started running.  Before I ran the half, I would have thought this to be an amazing feat.  Now that I've run one, I know that if you run regularly (30 minutes, 3 days a week), and if add one mile to just one of your runs once a week, in a couple of months you can be ready for a half marathon (13.1 miles).  Yes, seriously!  Quit rolling your eyes at me!

There is an awesome sense of accomplishment in completing a half marathon.  After crossing that finish line, you feel pretty incredible (and maybe just a little rough at the same time).  It's amazing.  While normal people do run half marathons all the time, it is still something that could not be accomplished without some hard work and dedication.  You earn it.  I know it's not for everyone, but if you have ever had some little voice in the back of your mind wanting to do it (a bucket list item maybe?), then you absolutely can do it!  Don't let doubt or a lack of confidence tell you that you can't.  I'm the queen of self-doubt, I battle her on a daily basis, so I know a little bit about that.

Here's your plan:  If you are not running yet, start the Couch to 5K program.  Get yourself running continuously for 30 minutes straight, three days a week.  Then you are ready to start stepping it up with a training plan like Hal Higdon or use the SmartCoach app from Runner's World.  Take it slow and consistent with your training.  Your goal is to finish, not to be first place.  Walking for parts of a run is not shameful--giving up on yourself is.

Just start working at it, and in no time at all, you'll be able to stick that cool 13.1 magnet on your car with pride.  Come on, just try it!  What do you have to lose?