Training for the Royal Parks Half Marathon

I started running during 2L year in law school, and I never really stopped. I still remember my first run - I was with my friend Caleb, and it was the first time that I actually ever engaged in formal exercise. I was out of breath within minutes, and I don't think I would've finished those three miles without him next to me chivvying me to keep on running when I begged for a break. Thanks to Caleb, I became a regular runner and alternated between trail running and the treadmill at the gym, depending on the weather.

Fast-forward four years later, and I'm registered to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon with some of J's office-mates on October 9. According to the website:

The Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon is one of the most scenic city runs in the world taking place on Sunday 9 October 2011.  Starting and finishing in Hyde Park, the beautiful 13.1 mile route races through four of London’s stunning Royal Parks (Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Green Park and St James’s Park) and offers runners magnificent views of some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Marble Arch and the Royal Albert Hall along the way.

Four years ago, I never would've thought that I would run a half-marathon, let alone one in London, but it seems as though it's going to happen. It'll be right before my 30th birthday, and I've promised myself a half-marathon and six-pack abs for that milestone.

The only thing is... I've hit a few blips along the way:

1. I've been busy focusing on weight training to try to build up some muscle, and I have a difficult time fitting in running after weights. I'm usually pretty tired and sweaty and just want to take a shower at that point.
2. I have a job that "requires" me to work at least 60 hours a week. We've compromised at 40-50, but that doesn't factor in commute time.
3. I caught a cold last week that I'm still fighting off, and this is right around the time when training was supposed to begin (for a procrastinator like myself).

So what's a sick runner to do? I contemplated running even while sick but the fear of getting even sicker scared me off. Instead, I decided to take the day off from work and focus on getting better, but I still managed to sneak in a weightlifting session. The most annoying thing is that I'm not really sick - I just have a sore throat and a niggling little cough and a slightly runny nose, just enough to keep me from shifting my running into high gear.

But enough whinging for now. I'm really excited about this half-marathon, especially when I found out one of my office-mates is also running it. We swap our running magazines with each other (she's Runner's World and I'm Women's Running) and talk calluses all day long at the office, which is probably not so nice for the others. J's definitely not running it, but he did promise to cheer me on from the sidelines while eating a cheeseburger. Meanie.