How far is 13 miles?

Thirteen miles is the distance from my parents farm to the town where we went to school and church. I've traveled this distance many, many times growing up, and even now as an adult when I visit, but always by car or by bus - never of my own volition.

Now I am going to find out truly how far 13 miles is - I signed up to walk the Des Moines Marathon 1/2 marathon race in October. I needed a walking goal to keep me motivated - and now I've got a whopper.

http://www.desmoinesmarathon.com/site3.aspx

The thing I've learned about setting goals from WalkingWorks is that you just don't go out and run a (half) marathon. You baseline, and you gradually build toward your accomplishment by setting short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals.

Here's my baseline: I started running and walking regularly right after the first of the year, and after 4 months, I can run/walk 3 miles. Slowly, yes. But I can do it.

My short-term goal is what I'm going to accomplish today or this week. This week's training schedule includes two, 2-mile runs, and a couple of days of cross training.

My intermediate goal is to run the Dam to Dam 5K race at the end of May.

My long-term goal: move myself 13 miles. After traveling that distance for years, I can see what 13 miles looks like in my head. And, I know I can do it.

I'll keep you posted on my progress.