I fell in love with the half marathon when I ran my first in 2011. It was the Pittsburgh Half and it was fantastic. I love running this city. I loved the training. I teared up at the start and the finish. And even though I was in so. much. pain. when I crossed the finish line (pro-tip: training plans shouldn’t have you stop at 10 miles. You should do at least 11 during training, if not 12) I couldn’t wait to do another one. And I did do one this year. It wasn’t a great experience, certainly paling in comparison to Pittsburgh, but I still love the distance.
Since my life has changed so drastically over the past 5 months, I’ve really been able to fully embrace my passion for running. I don’t feel like ‘myself’ when I don’t do it. I know that when I start looking for future mate this has to be a passion that we share (along with Steelers football). I need someone with the drive that distance runners have and who understands my insanity, and that running, at this point for me, is NOT a choice but a part of who I am.
So my goal for 2013 is to get in the kind of shape where I can run a half marathon any time that I want to. Like my Sunday morning run could be a 13.1 just for the hell of it without giving it a second thought. Then I move on to bigger and badder distances. 🙂