After a few years of getting into running and not wheezing my way through every step, I’ve begun to actually enjoy it as an exercise activity. This year, I’ve decided that I was going to run in at least one race. The first one will be the Shamrock Shuffle 8K on March 25th. It’s just shy of 5 miles, which I’ve never run all at once before – or maybe even in total on one day.
As with everything else in life lately, being ready for this race is going to require some planning. I’m going to meet with a personal trainer from my gym. He is working on a balanced training plan that will help me focus on the distance, but also make sure I don’t forget to do things like weight lifting to strengthen my core and other supporting muscles. We’re going to meet once a month to track progress, tweak the plan, and just see how things are going. These things are necessary if I expect to succeed on race day.
I’m excited about this new venture, small as it may be in the world of running. I have no grandiose dreams of being first or doing anything faster than a 9 minute pace for this event. But the goal of completion will be huge for me. Perhaps I’ll even do more events later this year.