Going for a run. How did that happen?

I'm training for my first half marathon and have been using RunKeeper, an app on my phone that maps out a training program and tracks my progress. The objective is to get you ready for a half-marathon in about 4 months; you will build your endurance and slowly add distance to make it to 13 miles.

I started the program after I completed my 10K in July. Yes, I should've been done by now but I was working on a project that got me off track with training. I was looking to do my first half either this month or next but that didn't happen.

My first half-marathon will be the Manhattan Half on Janary 26, 2014 and I will make two loops around Central Park (hope it won't be too cold). It's funny how a new activity becomes part of your life. When I was doing my 6-mile run earlier this week, I thought "a year ago, if you told me that I would be logging in a 6-mile run today, I would wonder what you're smoking." My pace isn't great but I'm getting it done.

I'm not doing straight running yet but I'm getting there. I did notice that I will do better at an event than when I'm by myself. I have a 5 mile event on Sunday. I knocked out a training run of a similar distance last Sunday in an hour and 4 minutes. It might be a hoot if I can knock this out in an hour.

I used to walk a lot so why is the treadmill kicking my ass?

I lived in Queens for over 20 years and spent about a dozen years working in the City. Walking a lot came with the territory. I'm also a dog owner so there's some walking that comes with that as well. Basically, if I needed to go someplace that was within 10-20 blocks away (about half a mile to a mile away), I walked because driving or taking public transportation didn't seem worth the trouble.

Five years ago, I moved to Long Island and found a job that was a 30-minute drive from my home. While it was great that I no longer had to deal with the LIRR, the problem is that I wasn't walking as much as I used to. Not that I was winning the Twiggy contest by any stretch of the imagination but add a more sedentary lifestyle to horrible eating habits, the pounds are surely to follow.

I spent most of my adult life gaining and losing the same 20 pounds but over the last five years, those 20 pounds seemed to have returned with companions which has yielded a 50 pound weight gain.

Over the summer, I went through a period of being pretty diligent about going to the gym but that went to hell in August when I got busy with client work and leaving town for a conference. New Year's rolled along and I (along with the rest of the free world) resolved to mend my delinquent ways.

I found a 5K training program which can be done exclusively on the treadmill and it didn't seem as overwhelming as another 5K program that I tried last year. The program consists of a blend of running & walking; the time on the treadmill starts at 30 minutes and peaks at 45 minutes. I'm on "week 1" and I never thought that I would be flaking out the way I have considering just a few months ago I was knocking out 50-60 minute sessions on the treadmill.

When I saw my mom earlier this week, I expressed a level of disappointment by not being about to complete a 30 minute session and she told me to just work my way up to that time. On Monday, I spent 13 minutes and yesterday, I spent 18 minutes. Hopefully, I can knock out 30 minutes.