A Half Marathon? Does that mean I can do it half-arsed?

I’m normally good at keeping my head down for January as diets and gym memberships start flying about ready to hit vulnerable people in their post-Christmas sluggishness. I haven’t escaped this time, however. It appears that I’ve signed up to do a half-marathon in April.
No, not a 5 or 10 km fun run on city streets; a half-marathon – that’s 13 miles or 20 kilometres and it’s part of the Connemarathon which involves hills ie running up hills. Feel free to commit me to an online mental institution.

It’s all the fault of my do-gooder, go-getter co-workers here at Habitat for Humanity. They’re all tall with perfect teeth and enjoy mountain climbing while wearing ethically manufactured boots and when they reach the top eat organic lentil soup. First one signed up for the Connemarathon, then another and suddenly I was the only one in the office who hadn’t signed up. Well I couldn’t be Johnny-no-mates for 3 months left out of all the planning and training talk – and I couldn’t miss a weekend of craic in Connemara. So what if I’ve to run 20 kilometres – I’ll manage.

At least that’s what went through my head when I filled in the online application – that’s the problem with the internet – everything’s so easy – spend 50 quid on a book – just one easy click....spend 120 quid on a flight to Rome – simple....suddenly your buying antique furniture on ebay and gambling thousands away playing poker with random Russians. Money doesn’t feel real when it’s just a number on a screen and marathons don’t seem difficult when they’re just words on a screen.

One good thing about it is that it will help me do my fundraising for the trips to New Orleans and Ghana building houses that I intend to do this summer. Doing two Habitat trips in one year is another good reason to reclassify me as mentally unhinged, considering the amount of planning, fundraising and preparation that goes into a volunteer trip abroad. I really want to do both the Jimmy Carter blitz build in May and go on an Open Team Build to Ghana in August though. Sure I’ll give it a go anyway.

I started my training yesterday with a run in Phoenix Park. Whenever I’ve gone jogging in the past I’ve been easy on myself- 10 minutes of running earns 5 minutes walking. So whenever I’ve gotten out of breath or the lungs start to hurt I’ve eased up and taken a break. I can’t afford to do that if I’m going to complete this half-marathon in less than 8 hours however, so yesterday I pushed it.

I went all the way from my home in Stoneybatter to the Chapelizod gate (via Corkscrew Road as opposed to straight road) and back only stopping after particularly tough hills or when my knees felt weird (I’m worried about damaging my knees – what if I couldn’t swing dance?! It’s a thought to unbearable to consider). By my reckoning (measuring on google maps) that was 8-9 kilometres so it was a good start. Admittedly I can barely walk today and it’s evident that I’ve awoken quite a few muscles that have been enjoying dormancy for about a decade but surely that’s the worst over with now? Surely it gets easier from here on in?

I’ll keep you posted throughout my training and should you want to donate to the worthy cause of Habitat for Humanity and support my lunatic bid to become a long-distance runner click here:
http://www.mycharity.ie/event/elaine_dobbyns_event

Remember money is smaller on the internet so give big!