Two weeks and counting....

I can't believe it, but in 2 weeks I'll be running the half marathon with Chandra and Jason! Can you say "Freakin' Nervous!!!???" Well, let me bring everyone up to speed on where I stand.

Monday night I hit the treadmill for the first time in over 2 weeks. Yes, I haven't been running. I got hit with a major case of the allergies when I ventured down to Port Arthur for my vacation. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say my lungs couldn't handle the breathing I'd need to grind out the miles.

I chose to run on the treadmill (LA Fitness) because I wanted an even surface and my tiny iPod had died... so I needed the bulky mp3 player to get me through it all. Starting out, the first mile and a half were fine. Then cramps decided to set up camp in my stomach and sides. They hung around until mile 4, and because I was running WAY too fast, I was only able to last until mile 6. I ended up walking the last mile... so ran 6, walked 1, to equal 7. Not too bad of a "start." Oh yeah, and got a blister.

Wednesday was a different story. This time I prepared my feet for the potential blisters, drank a lot of water all day long, and stretched a ton. So off to LA Fitness I went. The first 2 miles were fine on the treadmill, then the cramps returned. This time they stayed with me at least until mile 5. Because I was going at a slower pace (10.54), I worked through them much easier than Monday.

Mile 6 came and I was surprised I was doing so well. Around mile 7.5, that's when I started feeling fatigued. It's strange - breathing is fine, but your legs are just screaming, "Heellllloooo! What are you DOING to me???" I was hoping to make it to at least 10, but at 8.5 I knew I would have to settle for 9. So that's how I finished... 9 miles of running. Took me about 98 minutes. Like I said, much slower than I usually run but I was glad to reach that accomplishment.

So here I am... 2 weeks before the race. My goal is to get at least 9 miles on Sunday around White Rock Lake (it's 8.8 total) and possible a run or 2 in before then. But while I'm nervous about the 28th, I'm feeling a little better now than I did at the beginning of the week.

(I just gotta get my iPod replaced!)