Welcome to the Dark Side

Registration day.

I signed up for the inaugural runDisney Star Wars Dark Side challenge today. For those of you among the runDisney un-enlightened, this Challenge is a 10k race on Saturday, April 16, 2017 followed by a half marathon on Sunday, April 17.

Why would anybody subject themselves to 19.3 miles of running within a 24 hour period? Everyone has their reasons. Among mine: you get a swanky third medal for doing both races back-to-back.

I ran the inaugural Rebel Challenge at Disneyland earlier this year. I kind of love Star Wars. I'm also a Disney geek who likes to be among the first to own these cool medals.

And now I'm 204 days away from adding three more medals to my collection.



But I've got more than just three medals in my sight. This will be my fifth half marathon. One would think I'm among elite running status with all of the miles I've logged, but the opposite is true. I seem to get worse with every race:

April, 2012: Unite Half-Marathon - 2:00:53
September 2012: Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half: 2:02:something something
November 2013: Disney Wine and Dine Half: 2:10:I don't want to talk about it
January 2015: Star Wars Half: 2:07:03

I was happy to be moving the needle back in the right direction for January's half, but here's the real deal: I'm tired of running. My knees are angry with me. I've read too much lately about "Chronic Cardio" to continue down this path - but I don't want to quit without meeting a goal I set for myself way back when I ran my first half.

I want to do it in under 2:00:00.

I'm not going to be able to do it without any type of accountability. I need to think, train, eat, and sleep like an athlete, and I'm using this blog to keep me accountable.

So check in with me for the next 204 days (or close to it) to hear about my plans, progress, and roadblocks. Runners, goal-setters, and smart people from all walks of life are welcome to comment.


Today's Exercise: Bootcamp (1 hr) @ Globo Gym

Today's Meals:

Breakfast	Lunch	PWO	Dinner
2 Eggs Scrambled w/ Spinach Coconut Oil Coffee w/ Cream	Chicken Apple Sausage Quinoa w/ Kale Coffee	N/A	Tuna Quinoa w/ Kale Pumpkin Cider