Cleared to Run

Yesterday afternoon baby Eli and I headed to the midwives for our six week check up. Eli has gone from just a smidgen under six pounds at birth to a whopping 9lbs 9.5oz! Its amazing how fast hes growing especially when considering how much he pukes!!! and changing. Both my boys are growing up so fast!
After checking me over, Mary - my most incredibly, amazing, and totally awesome midwife - gave me the thumbs up to start running again. For those that know me, you won't be surprised to hear that for the past three weeks I have been feeling like a race horse in the starting gates waiting for the starters gun. I have felt exhausted fine and ready to run, but in an effort to not pee when I cough follow Mary's directions, I held off. Seriously, I'm impressed with my self control! Anyways, I'm cleared to run, which means "let the training begin!"
First things first, we need a goal. My ultimate goal is the marathon, but I need to break it into chunks to swallow that baby! So, Saturday, May 29th (right after my sixth wedding anniversary!) I am signed up for a half marathon in a neighboring town. Some might be thinking I didn't break this into small enough chunks and they might be right but I feel a need to jump right in, and go for a complete goal, not a time goal on the half marathon. For those racing novices out there, a complete goal vs. a time goal simply means crossing the finish line regardless of time and copious walking and not worrying about what your pace is, or the time on the clock at the end. A time goal changes your training as you need to be able to maintain a specific pace if you are going to meet a time goal. When getting back into the swing of things it is a good idea to start with a complete goal.
Eli has finally fallen asleep on my lap, Darius is reading stories with Daddy, and it is time for my first run in forever! I will be posting my training plan later so you can follow along if you'd like.

Do yourself a favor, clear some 'you time' and go for a run. The pay offs in energy, focus, and direction are worth the effort, so pull on your shoes, don't question it, just go. Enjoy!