I'm going to run a 10-miler!!

I'm not sure what sudden stroke of insanity hit me this morning, but I registered to run in a 10-mile race in April.

Okay, back up. Cut to yesterday.

This guy from our office sent out an email about the D.C. Cherry Blossom Race, which happens in the midst of the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival on April 6th. The race apparently takes you through this gorgeous path lined by blooming cherry blossom trees, and is so popular that it fills up within 24 hours of registration. The race comes in 5K and 10 mile denominations, so I figured I'd run the 5K, which is very manageable and would give me a reason to jog over the winter.

As I sat in front of the registration this morning, about to pay my fee for the 5K, I thought about how 5K REALLY wasn't THAT long...about 3 miles, right? I doubt it would take more than a month to train for such a thing. How was a 5K going to keep me motivated to run through ALL THREE MONTHS OF WINTER plus March and April? Runners in the 10 miler are REQUIRED to run at least a 14-minute mile the entire way, or they get kicked out of the race. THAT is some motivation right there.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was signed up for the 10 miler.

I'm trying to rope some friends into running it with me so that we can train together. I've already got one friend who's in, and it would be awesome if Kathryn (my roommate) wanted to do it, since that would be the ultimate exercise-buddy system. I'm thinking we'll run on our own during the week, and maybe get together for runs in increasing increments of distance on Saturdays and/or Sundays.

This is the greatest physical undertaking I've ever been on...I've never run two miles in a row, let alone ten...but I'm really confident that I can do it. I figured - what better way to document the experience than start a blog??

Naturally, I will be doing a bit of shopping this weekend, and starting on my endeavor on Monday. On my list:

* Real jogging clothes. Right now, when I DO jog (the last time was probably a month and a half ago) I jog in PJs. I need to man up and get an actual jogging shirt and pants, preferably something that will not cause frostbite as I expose myself to freezing temperatures this winter.

* iPod Nano and Nike +. That thing looks so cool, and the performance-tracking feature would be really great. I think I might get it on eBay, since I already have a regular iPod and resent having to buy an entirely new one just to get this kit.