I'm a pack animal

Last night I went for a long run/walk with these two lovely ladies (I had threatened to take sweaty post-workout pictures, but fortunately for them, forgot my camera):

Me, Jasmine, and Elizabeth

We ended up going about 3 miles, and it took us a little over 45 minutes. We did a lot of chatting, and some untimed running in between our walks. I meant to bring my watch and make it serious, you know, be the drill-sergeant of the group, but I forgot. My training calendar was a 30-minute walk anyway, so I did more than I had to. It was kind of nice to go with other people. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:

Elizabeth asked how long I had to run the marathon. I told her I had to finish in less than 7 hours otherwise THE SWEEPER would come to get me (yes, that really is what it’s called). She said, “Yeah, but you could do it in under 2 hours, right? People can do that.” I replied, “Sure, if I was from Kenya. But I’m not. I’m from Jersey.”

Jasmine is a way better runner than Elizabeth and I. And she just started. Although I guess I did too.

Elizabeth mentioned the Krispy Kreme run, where you run a mile and a half to your local KK, stuff a dozen glazed down your throat, then run a mile and a half back. Then puke your guts out, I’m sure. Wow. Impressive.

We debated over how far we ran. Jasmine said it was 3 miles. Elizabeth agreed. I said it was probably 4, maybe further. They politely said nothing, but exchanged glances that clearly said, “This crazy girl can’t measure distances to save her life!” I used my car to figure out our mileage on my drive home. As it turns out, they were right. Once my mileage training starts, I’ll have to buy a pedometer, or use mapmyrun.com to figure out my distances.

In other news, I haven’t reached the point in my training where I look forward to running. I’m still dragging my feet, even just thinking about running doesn’t excite me. I’m hoping to cross that hurdle soon, and hit my runner’s high. That’s right, I like to get high. (I can totally see that quote coming back to haunt me in the future.) I still make it out when I’m supposed to, minus that one day last week. But it’s hard to motivate myself. Hopefully I’ll hit my stride soon.

I’m thinking that buying new running shoes will help get me motivated. My current pair has a giant hole in not one but BOTH toes! Classy. But my fiancé was laid off and we’ve got a wedding coming up, so I’m probably looking at another month or two before I can invest in a new pair. It’s cool, though. I just wear brightly colored socks and it really cheers up my run. I’m considering painting smiley faces and/or motivational quotes on the toes of my socks. That way, whenever I hit a wall, I can just look down for a little pick-me-up.

Sometimes I think I’m a genius.

The Laziest Runner You Will Ever Meet.

A few weeks ago, I posted this as a status update on my social networking Web site of choice, Facebook:

I got an overall supportive, positive response, so I decided to think about it.

Then, a few days later, I went to my local health food store for a cookie and some organic chocolate milk. (My theory is that anything that comes from a health food store is good for you. Please don’t spoil this for me by pointing out the painfully obvious). While I was waiting in line, I saw this on the newsstand:

I showed this to my friend and said it was a sign, and that I was obviously meant to become a marathoner. She replied, “You think it’s a sign that you should be a runner just because they sell Runner’s World in a health food store?”

No! It’s the Special Beginner’s Edition, silly! Clearly, this was meant to be. I added the magazine to my pile and walked proudly out of the store with my completely unhealthy snack, committed to turning my life around.

I started doing some research to create a training schedule and find a suitable marathon. I considered traveling, maybe to California or Colorado, to really give myself something to look forward to. I had read about the Nike Women’s marathon in San Francisco, and it sounds aMAZing. But it’s in October, which is too soon for a 2009 goal. But in my issue of Runner’s World, I also saw an ad for the 2010 Disneyworld Marathon…which will be held on January 10, one day after my 25 birthday. It seemed like the universe was handing me a neat little package, all wrapped up and ready to go. So I’m making it happen.

My training starts tonight. I’ve compiled a training schedule and it is totally doable. My regiment is actually comfortable and even allows for some time to prepare a little harder for the Big Race. Blocking out a week for my honeymoon (because, let’s face it, who trains on their honeymoon??), I have 38 weeks. Just 38 weeks to go from 0 miles to 26.2 miles.

Holy crap.