Not really so "mini" marathon

I just signed up to run the "mini Marathon" for the Kentucky Derby at the end of April. I think "mini" sounds a whole lot better than 13.1 miles! Yikes! I've never run over 6 miles at one time before now, so I've got a lot of training to do.

So why, you ask, have I decided to torture myself in this fashion? There are many reasons I could give you. They would include really good ones, such as: My body is a temple. I need to keep it in the best shape I can. Or: I'm not getting any younger, and if I ever want to run one of these races, I'd better start working on it now. Or, even less righteous ones, such as: It will be a great way to get in shape before Graeters starts their Strawberry Chip ice cream season (check previous post). But, I will confess the true reason that I did this:

A friend of mine, who has a son the same age as Elizabeth and another son even younger, just flew to Phoenix (all by herself!) to run in a marathon there. Now, I must confess that the idea of the race wasn't what appealed to me. It was the idea of a legitimate reason to travel somewhere ALL BY MYSELF. Is that totally selfish or what? But, I mentioned it to David and, as always, he was very supportive of the idea.

So, I'm not crazy enough to sign up for a full marathon, but I found out that Louisville has a half marathon as part of the Pre-Derby festivities. The course even goes through Churchill Downs, which sounds pretty cool. And, you have to be there at 6:30am, so I absolutely must go up the night before. David encouraged me to sign up as soon as I told him about it, even recognizing that it would be a good opportunity for me to spend a night alone before the race. That's when I dropped the bombshell - of course I'll need another night alone after the race to recover! (Hee, hee, hee!)

I've found a training schedule that should bring me up to speed in 10 weeks. Since the race is 13 weeks away, that gives me a little leeway, but not much. Wish me luck as I see if I can really pull this off!