Less than a month till the Boston half!

As of today, there is now less than a month until the Boston Half Marathon! This means less than 4 weeks of training, and only 3 more long runs (which is good and bad).

This will be my third half marathon (second "real" one, as I don't really count the first one), and my first non-Mini half marathon. After the Mini this past May, I kept running off and on, but I find I have more motivation to run consistently when I'm training for something.

I'm back living with my parents now, so I've had to adjust my running routes, which, if you know me, has not been fun. I'm a creature of habit. In our old apartment, I had at least 7 "main" 3-5 mile routes I could pick from each day, so I was able to switch it up a bit and not get bored. I was able to pick loop routes, out-and-back routes, and whether I wanted to do hills that day. Now at my parents' house, I basically have one 3 (4 if I stretch it) mile route that's a whole bunch of little hills, which are good for the legs, but take some getting used to.

I'm not training for this half marathon as diligently as I should be (today's Tuesday...I haven't run since Friday...I skipped cross-training last night in favor of parking my butt on the couch and eating ice cream (and laughing at the Jets, but that's another story for another time)), but that's okay. Because if you'd told me 10 years ago...or even 3 years ago that I'd be running my third (second) half marathon, and second one in a year in just under a month, I totally would not have believed you.

I joined the track team in high school. For two days. I hated it so much. I couldn't understand how people could just RUN around for the fun of it. (Okay, the truth was, I really just wanted some sweet Umbro shorts, which my mom so kindly bought for me. If I was going to try to be athletic, then I was going to dress the part, dammit!) I'm not sure I understand it any more now, but I've come to enjoy my alone time when I'm running. I'm not a group runner, and I prefer to run by myself, to be alone with my thoughts.

I find running to be more of a mental exercise than a physical one. My biggest hang-up about running is the amount of time it takes me to get ready. On a basic run, I have to change/change into: running underwear, sports bra (or two), heart monitor, shorts, t-shirt, socks, sneakers, iPod, GPS, and possibly my fuel belt. I know you might think this is silly, but God, it's such a hassle getting ready!

I have to finish in under 2 hours and 30 minutes to be considered a "finisher" and get a pretty medal (the most important part of any race, after the FREE T-SHIRT). I finished the Mini in 2:29:07, and am running an average pace of just under 11 minutes/mile (hovering around 10:50, even on my long runs), which I have to say, is what I'm most excited about. (In January, I was running a solid 12 minute/mile, even 12:30.)

Anyway, so yeah, the half is less than a month away now. If you're around that day, come say hi!