The two-week countdown

This morning, I ran 13 slow miles. I hated every step of it.

That is not the kind of attitude I plan to take with me two weeks from today when I race the Murray Half-Marathon. I know the reason why my training plan called for 13 slow miles, but I am ready to get on the course and bump up the pace to a comfortable tempo.

I am excited about running the Murray Half-Marathon! The city of Murray is my favorite place. After all, it is the nation's friendliest small city and the home of Murray State University, my graduate alma mater. The fact that the course is routed through the city and the university is enough to get me pumped. I ran it last year and had a blast!

As I was running this morning, I thought a lot about how I would tackle 13.1 miles to accomplish a sub-two-hour time. I am considering a number of options but haven't decided which I will use. I want to ask some questions and research those options some more. Perhaps in the final week I will have a more definitive approach.

The training has been tough. My coach was accurate from the beginning when I told her how my training for other half-marathons had been. She said I had never been pushed in my running. For the last 10 weeks, I have learned that my body knows when to shift gears and get down to business. That has been obvious in many of the tempo and some of the long runs.

I still have two weeks of training to go. It won't get any easier. But come race day, I will be ready!

Impressions

We often were told when we were young to be mindful of what you do because you never know who is watching you. As a lunch-hour runner, I wave to many colleagues and students I know while tackling a running workout throughout campus. To them, I have become a fixture on the track and pavement for the last few years.

There are a few, though, who are watching me -- and I don't know it.

While cross training at the Foy Center on a recent Friday, again during my lunch hour, a gentleman cycling near me asked why I wasn't running that day. I replied, "It is cross training day." He then said something that made me smile.

"You inspire me. I see you running around this campus all the time, and you are the reason I am in here today."

The thing is, I didn't just leave an impression on him. He left an impression on me.

I remember being in his shoes once. Once overweight, I didn't follow a proper diet and hardly exercised. I never made time for myself. And now, years later, I am accomplishing athletic goals I never thought I could reach.  This doesn't mean you have to be an athlete to live a lifestyle of good health. This is what I want for me, but I do believe everyone should commit 30 minutes a day doing some kind of physical activity -- running, walking, cycling, swimming, weights, whatever. Just move!

The gentleman's kind words weren't the first time I have heard those. A young woman once told me that she thought I was "a beast." Those were her exact words. And then another person recently shared with me that she is working out more because of me.  

This morning, I tackled a difficult long run workout of 12 miles to prepare me for the Murray Half-Marathon in three weeks. I was extremely happy with my effort. This workout proved to me that I can push myself to achieve a sub-two-hour half-marathon.

But what kept me moving for 12 tough miles was knowing that someone could be watching me. I hope I left a good impression.

First blog: Training to achieve a sub-2-hour half-marathon

I write for a living, so it would seem that writing a blog would be up my alley.

Not really.

Only in recent days have I felt the urge to create a blog -- one that shares my passion (obsession, actually) for running but also describes the hardships of running and having a career. Running and having a family. Running and trying to do everything else to make myself and others happy.

That's why I created my blog, "The Lunch-Hour Runner." As you can probably guess by the title, I run during my lunch hour throughout the workweek. Currently, I am the assistant director of communication at Austin Peay State University, working from 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. After work, I am an adjunct faculty member and freelance news reporter. I love to run in the mornings -- and I do on Saturdays -- but during my busy week, I need all the sleep I can get.

I am training for the Murray Half-Marathon on April 13. Although I am a certified running coach with USA Track and Field, it often is difficult to coach myself. I need someone to tell me to run slow one day and fast another, how far to go and what kind of workout to do. I hired a coach, and the workouts have not been easy -- but I am doing them. It is my goal to break two hours.

Why is breaking two hours in a half-marathon such a big deal?

This is a question I ask myself frequently (especially now), and I haven't quite arrived at a logical answer to that question. Twice at different races, I have come close to breaking two hours. It should be easy to do.

But it's not.

In less than a month, I will be running that half. I will be glad when it's over, regardless of whether I accomplish my goal of breaking two hours.

No, that's not negative thinking.

Throughout all of this, I have learned to appreciate more how my running body works -- and how it doesn't. I am thankful each day to run. Where I work, not everyone appreciates a healthful lifestyle like I do. In fact, I am proud of having my sweaty hair in a ponytail when I go to meetings. It says, "I ran five miles today. What have you done?"

Yeah, I have a slight attitude when it comes to running -- and the things people ask me when they see me after my lunch-hour run are reserved for a whole other blog post. But I have come to this realization in all this training for a sub-two-hour madness: No matter what happens, I am proud to be a runner!

I hope you can find at least 30 minutes in your day to feel the joy I have when I run.