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I've been off the radar for a few weeks.

We've been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY since before Thanksgiving.

I visited one of my girls in Orlando, then went back for a Disney trip after Turkey day, then went back 2 weeks later for her graduation, then drove back a few days later to move her home, then took her to NOLA to learn about the city where she is about to be employed!

Sprinkle in un-decorating for Christmas, some doctor appointments, and a few Etsy orders and I've lost track of all time!

I also lost track of my exercise :(

But, I'm not committed to a half marathon in April.  April 13, to be exact.

I'm pretty excited about it!  Not only am I looking forward to a huge challenge that I never thought I'd even accept, but I'm excited about the mission of this group.  It is called Get There and Share with 413 Ministries.
Their mission is to use the sport of running to spread the Gospel!  I love it when I see people using their natural passion and talents to make a difference!  I'm looking forward to being a part of this race. From what I have read, there will be people from all over the country coming to Homewood, AL for this.  I may finish last, but I do plan to finish!

And if I'm going to finish, I'm going to have to train.  I'm in the middle of week 1 right now.  So far it isn't awful, but I'll be stepping it up real soon!  I've been researching different training plans and this one just spoke to me over the rest.

If you are interested in training, here's my schedule.  A quick google or Pinterest search will help you find others that might work better for you.  If you're able to run a 5k now, I'd suggest giving yourself 12 weeks to train for a half.  If you can run farther than a 5k already, you might need only 8 weeks.  If you have run half marathons before, I have no advice for you :)  I'm interested in training to be able to finish, not to improve my time!

Active Trainer Intermediate 5k Program

I just finished my second running program!  Seriously, that sounds so weird!  The first program was Couch to 5k.  I have NEVER been a runner.  Even when we were required to run a mile in PE every year, I couldn't do it.  I would run most of it, but either walk the short sides of the soccer field or end up walking the last lap or two.  NEVER ran an entire mile!  Couch to 5k was great for me.  I was able to run a full mile a lot sooner than I expected.  I was able to run a 5k before I even finished the program.
When I had completed the program, I knew I need something else to keep me running.  Active.com was running a special on their training programs, so I got the Intermediate 5k Program.

This program is 5 days a week of running for 11 weeks.  And I did it!  I even included a day of yoga each week for a total of 6 days a week.  Some days are built in for cross training.  I did www.Bodyrock.tv on those days.
The regular price for this program is $24.99.  That's awfully expensive as far as I'm concerned.  I have found several other training schedules on Pinterest that are just as good and completely free!  There were a few days of training that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, so I just completed the mileage required.
My speed and endurance have both improved and now I'm ready to tackle the 5k to 10k app I downloaded. I'll do that for a few weeks and then I'll start a HALF MARATHON training program!  I can't believe it myself!