As fast as you can

C's Tuesday group have been caught up in the running craze, and after joining several races they have now organized a duathlon exclusively for family and a few good friends. So as a dutiful wife and for the spirit of fun, I decided that I will participate, lack of stamina and training notwithstanding. :) Just to give you an idea of the participants' intensity level, one of the wives recently won a gold during a recent race.

As I obviously do not want to make a complete fool of myself, I started training this week. Granted that I will be running a 3K race only, and most probably will be running with all the kids. Hahaha! So yesterday, I brought the girls to school and proceeded to train for around 30-45 minutes. I started going around the block, walking for the first round, and then walking and jogging alternately, picking up speed slowly. And if you know me, then you know that I do give a new dimension to the word S-L-O-W. :) C has convinced me to bring a waistbag for my ipod, mobile and a self defense spray. It would be ideal to have a running mate with the same abilities to make my run more enjoyable and a whole lot safer, but since I don't have that luxury, I simply rely on God to watch over me - and a mini-can of Mace on my right hand.

A day later, I have aching shins. A short and snappy visit to the web and I discovered that running on concrete gives runners shinsplints. So I made a mental note to self to only run on asphalt. I have a lot more miles to log in, but this is certainly the start of a great adventure.

I have a training plan and a running schedule to stick to, to make sure that I progress at a steady pace, free from injuries, and to maintain my level of interest in my new "sport". And to further cement myself to the activity, I went ahead and splurged on my running gear. I figured that if I can't make it to the finish line first, I might as well finish it "fashionably" last. I bought myself some dry-fit running shirts from Nike and Puma, a pair of Nike trainer pants, and New Balance running shoes worthy to be worn by the professional runner.

Alright!