Christmas 12K Anyone?

So I know what you are thinking.....Christmas planning already?

So to answer your question. Yes, really. I LOVE Christmas.I love the trees, snow, cold weather, carols, hot chocolate, and two out of my top three favorite movies of all time are actually Christmas movies. I love everything Christmas. But, that isn't exactly where I'm going with this.

After I ran the disaster of a 5K in New York last fall I shied away from running completely. I figured that it was a sign that I couldn't, wouldn't, ever make it as a runner which was well.....stupid.  I fell out of cardio exercise and ever since I've been trying to get it back. But battling the Hills, (which I've mentioned complained about multiple times before) hip pain, wrong arches/shoe support, etc. has made my running comeback difficult. I'm also just plain terrified. Seriously.....terrified. Whenever I think about racing I have little mini panic attacks that I'll be the last one across the finish line and will have to bury my head in the sand to avoid literally dying of embarrassment. But it was after I wrote to one of my favorite bloggers for some racing advice that she let me know bad races happen and I should keep on trying. She even posted part of my email on her blog and the outpouring of support from so many people who commented was so touching. I even received a nice note from someone who said that I needed to keep trying and never give up and they wanted to hear back from me in a few months to let them know how race 2 went. So I decided I would have to give it another go.

So the next step was I came up with a plan/goal. And after much consideration/deliberation I have a couple new goals set in front of me that I'm going to challenge myself with. And they will definitely be a challenge.

1st Challenge - 5K race in August (8/4/12 and 8/18/12) Both in PA
      - Mini Challenge - 5K Race for the Cure 9/12 NYC
2nd Challenge - 10K race in November in AZ
3rd Challenge - 12K race in December in AZ

Yes, I'm officially crazy. Seriously.....Crazy.

But, I am the type of person who needs goals, I need goals to keep myself going and these seem like they are timed and spaced out enough to be OK and realistic. I am going to train 3 days a week to start and move up to 4 days if I feel up to it. I'm a little nervous for all of them but mostly the 10K in November  because it is so close to the 12K but that being said I am hoping that I can run a 5K comfortably by August so adding in the miles slowly shouldn't be too bad. I am going to aim to treadmill run in the mornings 2 days a week and run outside 1 day a week as a first step. My first goal is to spend a couple weeks getting used to a pace and running a mile minimum for each running session.As the mile gets easier (hopefully it will) I am going to add in distance. I'm not really all that concerned with pace this is more about finishing than the pace for me. I've also always heard to run at a pace that's comfortable and worry about distance and the pace will come after that.

So now back to Christmas, I'm hoping to run in the Arizona 12Ks of Christmas Race in December as a kind of culmination to my year of healthy changes, choices, and on my way to a healthy January and 2013.

I know this may seem crazy but I am excited for these goals and I am first setting my sights on that 5K. I am also going to be looking into a couple other 5Ks in September and October to keep the racing spirit alive but one thing at a time. For now I'm nervous just thinking about the 5K but I'm also excited and ready for the challenge.

My plan/goal for the first one in exactly 2 months = finish it and try not to walk at any point.
My plan/goal for the second one in 2 months and 14 days = finish it and try to do better than the last one.

I know that with dedication and careful training I can do this. I know I can tackle this 5K business and I am hoping that after I do these two 5Ks in August I will go back to NYC even more confident and run the Komen Race for the Cure this coming September and kick it's ass.

So here is to the next step, new challenges, and my 3rd official 5K!!! Woo Hoo!