It's been a long time

I shouldn't've left you, without a dope blog to run to...

Ok, enough of my corniness. :) I went to the TNT meeting on 4/18 and I'm committed to training with TNT. I haven't decided yet which race I'll train for this time, but I'm leaning towards San Francisco. I didn't have the money to register at that time (I just got done moving and am currently on the No Money Diet; see My Fantastic Voyage for details) so I'm going to register when I get paid. Our Kick-off party is May 10th, I think, and our first clinic/training is May 12th. That's only two weeks away. And we start out at 2-3 miles. I'm not sure how all that's gonna go. I mean, I don't know how much of that I'll be able to run. My friend from college has decided to train with me as well, first walking then jogging. So we're gonna start that this weekend. Ok, let me start at the beginning.

The Race. At first, I was going to do the Columbus Half Marathon on October 21st, but after going to the TNT meeting, I started getting interested in the Nike Women's Marathon out in San Fran. What's cool about that is

1. I've never been to Cali, so that would be a "free" trip to a new place. I use quotes because even though I won't pay money for the trip, I will earn it through my fundraising efforts.
2. Instead of a traditional medal, you get a Tiffany's necklace at the finish line. I think that's cute. And a nice gift for completing a marathon. I mean, I can wear that whenever. Can't wear a medal.
3. I get to visit with my sister's best friend who just moved out to LA. She said she'd fly up to see me. My sister has never been on a plane and I want to fly her out to Cali to see her BF and to see me complete the marathon. I want her there with me. Plus, after she goes out there, she might like it so much she decides to move. That gets her out of Cleveland and accomplishes another of my goals.

The thing is, I have a training buddy, NuDiva. We started this together, so I feel like we should run the same races. I mean, I guess she could run in Columbus while I run in San Fran (the races are the same day). I feel like I've already made my decision; I'm going to San Francisco.

Training starts with TNT on May 12. We have six days of training, one day off. There are 4 running days, two of them with the group (weds & sats) and 2 cross training days (that's why I got the Cross Training for Dummies book). Our first distance run is 2-3 miles. That's a friggin' 5K!!! I'm not going to be ready to run that until June. So I have a lot of questions about our first run.

So that's the update. I still need to read up on runner's nutrition. I'm definitely starting the Fat Smash diet (FS) next week, so between walking to work and re-training myself to eat right, I should be able to drop some weight and make my running a little easier. I know I need to go back to Pilates because my hips hurt after walking; I can tell I'm losing flexibility in my core. And stuff is already gon' be hurting from running; I need to be able to prevent whatever I can.

I'll update more as I read more.