Written on January 19th

Yeah, that's right.  I am going to go out there and make the goal of "running" the half marathon in July.  I say "running" because I'll be doing the Jeff Galloway (www.jeffgalloway.com) method where you run walk at intervals based on your projected race times.  There are a number of reasons why I decided to do this and I thought I should probably write them down for those times when I am really struggling to get out there.  

#1 Get ready for baby weight!

~Yeah, that's right, we're getting ready for a little one... but those of you that know me, know I'm a planner and so we will continue practicing for a little while. You can look for pregnancy posts in the future but NOT NOW! So I joined the marathon group to help me lose some extra weight.    

#2 Some sort of Social Life!

~ My inlaws are the ones who really inspired me to do this.  They're both in their 60's and did this program last year.  They have had a run every week since they signed up and enjoy all the benefits of working out AND have a social life to go with it.  It's amazing the amount of people they have met and have connected with.  Plus, the beer runs on Wednesday nights sound like A LOT of fun.  

#3 To accomplish something big!

~ How many people can say that they have run a half marathon (okay so the numbers are growing but still)? Now is the time for me to really put some effort into this before life gets really busy and things get in the way.  I can put aside my Sundays and a couple evenings a week right now, and I don't know how long I'll be able to say that.   

#4 To "test" the benefits...

~I know this one probably sounds a little strange, but many of my reasons for running this HM is because of all the benefits I've heard. 
boost confidence
eleminate depression
relieve stress
 it's a life-long exercise... 
ETC!
And I want to test them out.  It's also been said, in many of the talks I've heard, that if you do this with a group you are more likely to stick with it and have better results, which is what I'll be doing.  

So ladies and gents, these are the reasons I'm committing myself to run a Half Marathon in July.  Please join me soon for updates on this process.  BTW the first run is on Sunday... and we just got 14 inches of snow!