It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten on the blog. That’s because I wasn’t able to run the marathon, and it was too hard to write about what I considered a failure. While attempting to run 14 miles on a Saturday long run, pain in my leg became too intense. I got half way around Forest Park and had to stop. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t even walk. Patrick had to run to the car and pick me up.

I took a week off from running, but it didn’t help. Eventually, I went to the doctor and learned I had runner’s knee and had injured my I.T. Band. I started physical therapy, but it became obvious I would not be able to make the marathon. And because the injury was so bad, I couldn’t do a half marathon either.

It’s taken me months, but I’m finally ready to begin running again. I’ve learned a lot from the journey. I’ve always been a sprinter, when it comes to running and everything else in life. I did not pace myself. I approached every run like a race. And I did not stretch properly or enough.

I love to focus on beating my time and have realized a half marathon race is more suited to my personality. Patrick and I are already registered to run the 2008 half marathon in Vegas. We may even join the running Elvi. We are also looking to run another half marathon before the December race.

I’m glad things turned out the way they have because I’ve learned many important lessons about running and about my personality. During the course of our training, we ran three 13-milers, so I’m very excited about running an “official” half marathon!

I’ve also focused on other areas of health and fitness. Yoga has helped my injury and I’m now focusing on becoming more flexible. I’m also taking classes at the gym, using the elliptical, and I have a personal trainer to help modify my workouts so I can gain strength. I’m also using the pool at the gym for a full body challenge.

And, I’ve created a series called “Spark Your Health” to motivate others to get in shape and eat well. I report and anchor on WSIL-TV and this series runs Monday nights. This series is based on the SparkPeople site. More than 700 viewers have joined the online Spark Challenge Team I created online. It’s so inspiring to reach out and help others accomplish personal goals.

Everything is on the up and up. I’m anxious to start running, but it’s still too early and too cold to officially start training. I want to thank everyone for their encouragement and advice. I can’t wait to start blogging about my new journey to half marathon success!

I decided to run my three miles today at the park where I first started my marathon training. It’s been more than a month, and I wanted to see how much I’ve grown. When I used to run Cannon Park, my right foot would fall asleep during the first mile. Today, it didn’t fall asleep until the very last mile. The park is still difficult to run because it is so small, but I felt much better about finishing the run. It’s so much easier to run and see the sights only once, instead of getting board seeing the same scenery over and over again. Nevertheless, the run went very well.