Can I be ready by 9/26?

Well, today was my day at the gym to really see if I have what it takes to run a 1/2 marathon. The end result.... keep reading.

Last Thursday I researched online what a beginner runner have to do in order to be prepared for a 1/2 marathon. Many of the things I read gave me a 10 week training guide. Cool right...wrong. The stipulation of the ten week training was that the individual had to have been running for at least 4-6 weeks and at least 30 minutes non-stop. Yeah, that is the same thing I was thinking.

I used to run, to keep my stress down and for the love of it, especially when I lived in Oakley and let's face it, that was over 2 years ago and I was possibly 30 or more pounds lighter. But I decided last Thursday that I would go to the gym and see how much I can run before I had to stop. I ran 3 minutes at 5.6 mph before I stopped, jumped off the treadmill and immediately sat on the floor to pretend to do stretches, but on the inside I was nauseous and starving but at that point I had no desire to eat at all.

While on the floor trying to not pass out I quickly took inventory of my day: I worked, ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then lunch, and when I got home at 7:30pm I walked Buddy, had a cup of pineapples, went to the gym, got on the elliptical for 73 minutes, then I decided to see how long I can run w/o stopping. Oh and I did not drink a lick of water the entire time I was working out. NO wonder I couldn't do it for long and I felt like dying. And a wise person said that my workout could have been a "Very Special Episode" in any silly comedy show like Full House or Saved by the Bell (I was compared to the episode of Full House when DJ worked out so much and stopped eating and during one of her workouts passed out--thankfully that did not happen to me but it was a scare).

But today was a better day. I had a decently carb fill breakfast, I let it digest, I still got on the elliptical but this time for 40 minutes, during which I kept hydrated and then I ran on the treadmill. At first I could only run at 5.6mph for 4 minutes, then after walking for a bit I tried again and this time over 6 minutes. :) I am so proud of myself. Then I went on to do 33 more minutes on the elliptical and I did some strength training. I am feeling good.

Now I wonder, can I be ready for my 1/2 marathon run in Oxford by September 26? Considering that I have a little more than 20 weeks to train and I'm so determined, I say: GAME ON :)