Adela Uchida was back in town not long ago.  We were able to catch up and even run in the Race for the Cure 5K in downtown Lansing.  Afterward, she said someone asked her if she knew anyone willing to run in the Capital City Half Marathon and blog about the training and the race. 

Long story short-- I'm blogging about it.

I agreed pretty much on the spot for a few reasons.

1. I thought the training and the race itself would be an excellent excuse to work hard and lose that pesky last 10 pounds hugging my mid-section.
2. It sounded like a challenge, but one I thought I could meet given the fact 5K's (3.1 miles) were getting easier for me.
3. I am actually starting to enjoy running.

That last one is a shocker for me.  I have never liked running or cardio of any kind unless it's a game, like basketball.  But, like I said, cardio is what I need more of if I'm going to meet my other health goals.

So, onto the training.  Adela gave me a website to hit that would put me on a training regiment.  Runner's World lays out a 10-week training program for the first-time half marathon runner.  I haven't started the training program yet, but I have started pushing myself.  Over the last two weeks, I've simply upped my running time from 25 minutes, to 30, to 35, to 40 and topping out at 48 minutes.

There's just one problem: pain in my right knee.

It has me a little nervous, because it's forcing me to take extra days off because of it.  I think I can run through the pain, but I don't want to do more damage.  I came across some advice on Runner's World:

Runner's Knee

The Hurt
Soreness or pain around the front and inside of your kneecap

The Cause
The inflammation of the connective tendon in and around the knee or damage to the cartilage under you kneecap often leads to patella pain. It's often associated with overpronation, too much mileage, running in worn-out shoes, and weak thighs and glutes.

The Fix
Take two days off and ice for 15 minutes twice a day. Get a more stable shoe. Strengthen your hips, quads, and hamstrings. "You could also try a Cho-Pat, a knee strap," says Verran. "Half the people who use them find relief."

I'm pretty sure this is what I have, so I'll follow this advice for now and hope for the best.  Anyway, the race is September 27th, I think, so I'll start training next week and be blogging here about it.  My blogs will be linked to somewhere else though and I'll tell you more about that later!