26 & 7/32 - Runner With A Cause

So much to catch up on, might as well start here...

As mentioned earlier in the year, Your Humble Observer is in active training for a half-marathon race coming up on March 21, 2010 in New York City, along with his running partner, M.A.

While the task is daunting, having someone training with me keeps me motivated and focused. But the motiviation goes far beyond the physical, as M.A. has decided not only to push herself to the physical limits, but she is selflessly running in the name of a fantastic cause - The American Cancer Society. Her goal is to raise $1000 for the organization, and she can get that much closer to reaching the goal with your help.

Please help this awesome cause by clicking on the link below and donating to her running fund.

$13 FOR 13 MILES

26 & 7/32 - Trial Run

Last Sunday Your Humble Observer took on his first running challenge by participating in the PO Chris Hoban Memorial 5-Mile Run. The race was a nice brisk 5-mile jaunt along Shore Road and through the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. YHO and running buddy M.A. not only got a glimpse into the race atmosphere, we got a lesson in proper race preparation.

YHO posted a time of 51:07.52 (Pace 10:14/mile) and came in 375/612 runners. Not too bad for a first race.

Next on the agenda is the Coney Island Boardwalk 5K Turkey Trot. The goal is to run a sub-10 minute pace.

26 & 7/32 - A New Challenge

About 2-3 months back a friend suggested that I take on a new challenge: running a half-marathon. At first, I scoffed at the idea, believing that running of any kind was an activity for anyone but Your Humble Observer. After mulling it over for a bit, however, I thought that perhaps doing something to step out of my comfort zone would do me good. Frankly, I had been feeling a bit sluggish since surgery and ob/gyn rotations as I could rarely find time to exercise during those 6 months.

So I accepted the offer. We agreed that because we were novice runners it would be impractical to aim for the 2009 half-marathon, so we're training for 2010. It was a bit difficult to start up at first, what with my resistance to the idea of running and my schedule, particularly with Step 2 and the rotations. Regardless, we established a semi-regular schedule and have made quite a bit of progress. Originally, we started running 3 miles, which at the time seemed like hell on earth to me. With regular dedicated running sessions, we have been able to up our regular workout to 5 miles at a time.

If you, the readership, will allow me, I'd like to make this a regular feature of the blog and keep you updated on my progress. I feel that, in addition to allowing you a glimpse into my life, it will help keep me honest and motivated to push through to August 2010. I'll keep a more regular update at the bottom with my times and mileage, but I'll post on here when we hit major milestones and the like.