February is always an exciting month for me, one in which I find myself more chipper and more eager to run.
It’s not because February is the shortest month of the year or because there’s always the hope that Punxsutawney Phil will not see his shadow at Gobbler’s Knob to usher in spring. My sister Leslee would tell you it’s because her birthday is in February. In fact, she’ll celebrate that birthday tomorrow.
While I always love celebrating Leslee and her birthday, I also look forward to this month because it marks the beginning of my official training.
One of the pastimes I most enjoy is going out for a run. It has been my preferred form of exercise for more than 20 years, and it’s also how I best clear my head after a busy day. Lacing up my running shoes, putting my AirPods in and hitting the pavement is always a highlight of the day. I have to dig deeper to find that same joy while running on a treadmill in the winter months, but I digress.
The beginning of February always marks the start of my training for the annual half-marathon in which I run every spring in Indianapolis. The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon is always the first Saturday in May, and running it every year has become one of my favorite traditions.
A friend of mine came up with a 13-week training schedule the first year we ran the race together, and I’ve mostly followed it every year since then. Over the course of three months, the training schedule calls for running three times a week as the distance ran gradually increases leading up to the race. By following the schedule exactly, you will have run 192 miles during the 13 weeks leading up to the 13.1-mile race. For me, it will take about 30 hours to run those 192 miles — the same distance as four round-trip visits to Fort Wayne from the Parlor City.
Running the half-marathon is much easier the years when I follow the schedule to a T. The couple of years that I have missed more than three or four of the scheduled runs, however, always mean that race day isn’t as smooth since I’m not as prepared.
This year might be one of those not-as-prepared years.
First, officials canceled the race in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic, a smart decision since more than 30,000 people participate each year. The last time I ran 13.1 miles was May 2019.
Second, suffering from COVID-19 last month slowed me down more than I imagined. My training should have officially started last week but the only running I was doing was running out of breath.
Over the weekend, however, I was finally able to hit the treadmill. While I won’t be able to log the 10 miles the schedule calls for this week, I’m glad to be running again and hopeful to be back on track within a week or two.
COVID certainly threw a wrench into the works yet that setback reminded me about never taking for granted the simple things in life such as running. Going for a run is such a normal part of my weekly routine that I rarely think about how lucky I am to be able to hit the pavement any time I want.
Not only does absence make the heart grow fonder but it also provides a good dose of humility.
See you on the Rivergreenway sooner rather than later, I hope — even if Phil did see his shadow last week.
jdpeeper2@hotmail.com
