Decisions

I'm sitting here this morning, contemplating the race registration for the Go! St. Louis Half-Marathon...To get the lowest registration fee, I need to send in my application by October 31st. The question is do I really want to run a half?

I started considering the idea of a half marathon after my successful 10k. Then, last weekend at a friend's b-day party, I was telling my friend Chris, who runs half and full marathons, about my experience and my possible desire to push farther. He convinced me that anyone who can do a 10k can do a half marathon and that the early April date of the Go! St. Louis half would give me plenty of time to train slowly. He also managed to convince me that if the half goes well to consider training for the full in Chicago...He made it all sound so simple!

So, what's holding me back now? Partly, I think it's laziness. Preparing to run a half means a lot of time devoted to putting in those long runs. Do I want to commit? I don't want to sign up for (and pay for something) that I'm going to end up giving up on half way through training.

Second is my fear that I'm not a "real" enough runner yet. I looked up a half-marathon training schedule, and it was full of things that I don't fully understand like fartleks, tempo runs, etc. And, I thought, "can't I just add mileage to my daily runs and build up each week?" Is that naive to think? I'm also put off by the need to refuel during long runs...those gel packs and beans make me want to throw up. I just can't do it. So, maybe long distance isn't for me.

Finally, I'm held back by fear...fear of failure, fear of injury. Long distance is when runners start to get hurt. I'm coming into this with "bad" knees and hips from the beating I gave them during high school and college volleyball. Can my body take it? I don't want to end up at the physical therapist's and unable to run at all.

I have the clarity to know that while some of my concerns are valid, mostly they're just excuses. If I put my mind to it, I can totally be ready for a half in April. I can listen to my body and avoid unnecessary wear and tear. And, by April, I should be at my goal weight, if not before, so there'll be that much less fat to lug around with me on a run. I'm still not sure about the technical training and fuels, but I can figure out something I'm comfortable with. That's what Google is for, right?

Anyway, I've got a few more days to decide what I'm going to do. Any advice is welcome!

Never Too Late...

This past summer (and the summer before that), one of my goals was to be able to run the entire outer path of Forest Park. According to the StL Track Club's website, that loop is 5.66 miles. Now, I've completed the loop many times with a combination of walking and running but never running the whole thing. After last weekend's success with the 10k, I knew 5.66 miles shouldn't be a problem. My only concern was that the south side of the park has several steep hills that have always given me problems.

So this morning, with the sun shining (finally!) although not doing much warming, I set out for the park to put a check mark next to another goal completed (even if it was a little out of chronological order). I started on Lindell near the Visitor's Center going clock-wise, that way I would hit the hilly section after only a mile or two. Some way, some how, without my realizing it, my legs have gotten WAY stronger. The hills really weren't that steep...I just slowed down when I needed to and kept careful watch over my breathing and form.

Another small victory...About 4 miles into the run, there's a very small hill, one that shouldn't give me any problems, but for some reason, whenever I've gotten to the top of the rise in the past, I've had to walk for a couple of minutes to catch my breath. Well, today, as I approached that section, I told myself, "This hill is so tiny compared to the others you've just conquered...the fact that you can't keep going when you get to the top is purely mental." And, it was. When I got to the top of the hill, I reminded myself to control my breathing to help slow my heart rate and to just keep going. It worked!

When I reached the end of the run, I still felt strong, so I pushed on for another quarter mile or so just to prove to myself that I could. I finished the whole run (5.66 + some) in 61 minutes. Not as fast as my 10k pace, but I was happy to cross off another goal, not to mention clearing a mental hurdle that's been holding me back. Now to get my eating back on track and finish off these last 16 unnecessary pounds. I think of it this way: the closer to my ideal weight, the easier it will be to run!

Legislating Health

I was listening to NPR this morning, as per usual, and on the Diane Rehm Show, she was discussing the proposed tax on soda and sugary drinks that would allegedly drive down consumption and provide revenue for the health care overhaul. The tax could be somewhere around a penny per ounce. So, a 20 oz Coke from the vending machine would be an extra 20 cents or so. It reminded me of a commercial I saw recently on the same topic where a "mother" bemoans the fact that in this economy even a few pennies add up to strains on their budget. The commercial was paid for by a coalition that, among others, included soft drink companies.

I guess you can figure out where I come down on this issue...I'm all for the tax. In fact, I think it should extend to candy, chips, and other non-essential foods. If the government can tax the heck out of cigarettes under the assumption that it will deter smoking, which contributes to disease, why not tax junk food in a similar manner in hopes it will steer some people toward healthier food choices? A Coke a day may not kill you as quickly as a cigarette a day, but it will eventually affect you.

And, the argument that it's going to put a strain on the working American's budget...Uhmmmm, have you considered removing soda from your budget? Tap water is extremely cheap. The problem of unhealthy food being cheaper than healthy food is an entirely different (very serious) issue. As is the absence of grocery stores in certain urban areas.

I realize a tax won't deter everyone. No amount of taxing or even educational campaigns are going to keep the majority of people from doing exactly what they want to do, no matter how bad it is for them. In fact, if the tax goes into effect, it probably wouldn't stop me from having the occasional Diet Coke. But, as long as I'm going to make a less than healthy choice, someone else might as well benefit...as in the millions of people in our wealthy nation who can't get affordable health care.