As some of you know, I reluctantly signed up for the Scotiabank half-marathon (21K) again. Last year didn’t go so well- I didn’t exactly finish. My knees gave out midway through the race. I initially fought the pain by walking a kilometer or so but even that proved too difficult. I embarrassingly watched slow “runners” walk pass me from the sidelines as I waited for the medic to pick me up and drop me to the finish line. It wouldn’t be a understatement to say that it was a low point in my short running career. I think I saved myself a little bit by not accepting any medals at the finish line.

I do not want a repeat of last year this time around. So I’ve been training by actually jogging/running. Let me explain. I thought I was a super-athlete last year that could wing the half-marathon. So whenever I would went to the gym to train, I’d actually play basketball. Basketball is cardio after all so I figured it’s still good. What I failed to realize is that ball doesn’t not punish you for lacking stamina in the same way a half-marathon does. Short interval cardio training does not equal success at a half-marathon race.

So this year, I’ve been working on  increasing my stamina. I need to be able to run for at least 2 hours at a moderate pace to finish the race with a respectable time. Wish me luck!

This week hasn’t been great. I’ve only managed to run for about 20 minutes at a time. I obviously have ways to go.