Who would have thought?? Just a few weeks into half marathon training (albeit with a walk/run program) I have bumped my full mile repeats up to 11:50 miles from the 12:30 miles. So far so good. I want to do the repeats again tomorrow, but past history has told me to slow down and just wait...wait for the day when you can do at least 2 miles in a row without stopping.

It is a hard process getting off my butt and getting going and trying to stay focused. Running used to be SO easy! I could run 7 miles during a lunchtime and be okay. Now running 7 miles is a marathon effort. I know I have put on many pounds, have gotten lazy, have not had goals, but I realized recently if I wanted things to happen, I was going to have to make them happen. I read all the bloggers inspiring blogs about training, races, etc. and I want that feeling again too. I want to be a part of that club. It is exhilirating. It is motivating. It is about life.

So today, 17 days into the new year, and after 16 consecutive days working out, trying to maintain a consistency pattern, my mile times have finally started taking shape. Yes, I know they aren't near my times of 3 or 4 years ago, but they aren't that far off from my beginning running times of 18 years ago. Then I could run 2 miles without a break though. So that is something to work on. But I was a young 35 then, and now I am a slowly aging 52. So I have to cut me some slack there.

I have been hesitant to do races because I have gotten so out of shape. I don't want the people I had raced with for so many years to see what I have become, what I have let happen to me, what I am. I want a perfect (or as close as I can get) image. I am not even a shell of my old self.

But this is a new beginning. There was some divine revelation to me that got me off the couch again and against all odds I must continue to work towards a goal I know is reachable if I work hard enough. The elusive Ironman. Not to others of course. I have been running from it for years. But like when I did my first marathon, it was a goal I hadn't yet reached and had to train to achieve that goal.

Ironman for me has been about not having the funds, time commitments, and fear. But now my fear is that I won't be able to reach this goal before I die, so I don't want to waste any more time. I fear an early death. Why? Because my mother died 10 years younger than her mother, and if the pattern follows, I only have 6 years to accomplish this goal. I do believe though that everyone has a time, and how they spend that time on earth will determine their success or failure. And since I have had many, many failures in my life, I need a goal that will help me achieve success. I believe achieving Ironman success will make me stronger and more confident in life itself.

During this process, I want to be able to give something to someone, but most important my children. I want them to know that with hard work and faith you can achieve anything. I want to be able to show them this and this is the only way I know.

All this seriousness aside, I played a joke on my sister Debbie today. Debbie is a hair stylist and I have been putting off getting a haircut for a couple of weeks due to scheduling, etc. We have this standing joke when it is TIME for me to get a haircut that the hair police are going to take me away if I don't get a haircut SOON. So tonight I called her and told her that I got this subpoena in the mail that if I didn't get a haircut soon they would issue a warrant for my arrest.! I told her, Uh, yeah, I got this subpoena in the mail today. She was all worried and said, WHY?? What happened?? I told her it was from the hair police and that if I didn't get a haircut soon, I would be in trouble. She was all worried at first until I finished my story. LOL! I definitely need a new do.

So workout today: 1 mile at 11:50 on treadmill; circuit weights; 1 mile on treadmill, 11:47. Last week my gut wrenching same workout was a 1 mile at 12:20, circuit weights, 1 mile at 12:04, for a total of 12:24. Today is was 23:47, so a little victory on speed.

I don't anticipate increasing my speed a whole lot until I lose AT LEAST 20 pounds. And that ain't easy.