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by Melissa Brunner

I'm going to run my first half-marathon.

There. It's official. I've pointed and clicked my registration and now I'm saying it here. No backing out now!

I've been saying for a while now that I wanted to set a new fitness goal. I've done 5k runs for years, tackled the 10k the past two summers and felt a half marathon would be a natural progression. It's far enough to push myself, but not so far (think full marathon!) that I wouldn't be able to properly prepare. I'm not saying lack of time is a legitimate excuse for not exercising, but I really can't see myself "squeezing in" two- to three- hour training runs for a full.

To be honest, though, I've been pretty good at coming up with excuses for avoiding the half, too. It's 13 miles, for those unfamiliar. It will require some time commitment to get long runs in at least once a week. I didn't want to do the Topeka-to-Auburn run because it's in January and, well, I'm pretty wimpy about how cold it might be for my first time!

I asked a few of my running friends and they told me Lawrence might be pretty good for a first half. It's in April, which is far enough into spring that I'll be sure to be back outdoors running regularly. So I did an online search and thought I'd found a site that said it would be canceled. That left me kicking around traveling to Lincoln or St. Louis.

Turns out the site was wrong. Blame - or celebrate! - the morning show's boot camp.

Amanda Lanum and I are on opposite shifts now, so we don't run into each other as often. A couple weeks ago, we overlapped and she said she and Amy Schmidt had decided to run a half and wondered if I would, too. Which one? Lawrence. Turns out, I'd found a site for a different run. I needed to see www.kansasmarathon.com.

I started to hedge, but Amanda said I was coming up with excuses. She was right. There's always a reason to say you can't do something, but eventually you just have to make up your mind that you're going to do it. And so, I am.

The run is April 18th. That's about 10 weeks away. Amanda has posted a training program from Runner's World. I also found one in Fitness magazine. I've also picked the brains of some of my running friends over the past year and they can expect to hear from me again! I imagine I'll come up with a hybrid program. I've been keeping up with my running regularly this winter, so I'm a little past the beginner programs they describe, but I'm not quite up to the distances of the next level of programs.

Whatever the case, I'm game. I now have a goal with a definite date attached, so I can map out the road ahead of me. I'm already on my way with a hill run Saturday and a 5-mile run Sunday. I'll keep you posted with the blog on our running page, www.wibw.com/running. We'll keep track of Amanda and Amy, too.

Wish us luck! And if you care to join us, there is a 5k distance, as well. We'll see you at the finish line.