Uh-oh, what did I agree to?

Well, it all started a couple months ago.  We were sitting at home having a nice lunch when CJ said he would like for us to do something together.  Okay, I know what you're thinking.  We do stuff together all the time.  And it's true.  We do.  But what he meant was more along the lines of wanting to set a goal that we could reach together.  And that's how the idea of running another half marathon was born.

This will be my second half marathon, but my first with CJ.  This should be interesting because I am not a runner by nature.  Quite frankly, I don't even like running.  On the other hand, CJ could probably run it right now without any training.  I do, however, respect that it is a challenge.  And I like that I can get myself to do something that I might not enjoy or at which I do not naturally excel.  I was up for this challenge, however, I had one stipulation.  I did NOT want to run this half marathon in Switzerland.

In case you are unfamiliar with the terrain here in Switzerland I will fill you in.  We have a little something known as the Alps.  And even when you aren't exactly running up a mountain, you are definitely going to encounter hills much greater than anything I saw during my last marathon in Cleveland, Ohio.  So we set out looking for a place to run.

Another consideration was the weather.  Since moving, we have not joined a gym.  We decided not to join a gym for several reason.  Even though I wish we belonged, gym memberships, like everything in Zurich, are expensive.  When I go to the gym, the benefit for me is getting to watch the televisions while doing my cardio.  Since I would not understand the German on the television here, and also since I'm not much for lifting weights, I decided not to join.  CJ chose not to join a gym because of their hours of operation.  The gym near our home would not be open early in the morning before he would have to go to work.  And at night, he didn't want to come home after a long day at work only to leave again.  Sooooo, we do not belong to a gym.  This means that all my training (I say "my" because CJ doesn't really need to train) has to be done outside.  This is much different than last time I trained.  Last time I ran the vast majority of my runs on the treadmill.  Call me crazy, but I would much prefer running on the treadmill to running outside.  For some reason, running outside can give me anxiety.  I am very jumpy, and don't particularly like running in new areas.  Plus I like keeping a steady pace.  Although CJ would tell you this still won't be a problem for me, since I have one speed.  :)

So, since I would need to train totally outside, we decided it was best to run a marathon in the fall.  This way it would be over (hopefully) before snowfall.  We started looking into it... and found there were a lot of marathons out there when you can go pretty much anywhere in Europe.  So we looked for someplace that would be a little warmer, someplace where we have never been before, and we chose.... SPAIN!

We found a half marathon on the island of Mallorca, off the southeast coast of Spain.

*Beautiful Mallorca*

Click here to read a little more about Mallorca!!

We will be running it on October 17th.  CJ came up with the great idea that this trip will be my birthday present... if I can survive the run that is.  We will get to go to Mallorca and run then tour the beautiful city and the beautiful beaches.  Hopefully spend a little time here...

Then we are going to head to Barcelona and spend a few more days there!  I am really excited, and this wonderful trip is giving me incentive to keep up with my runs!  So far so good.  And CJ and I are running all our long weekend runs together.  Although, he definitely has to slow down his pace for me.  But, that must be love... <3

I will keep you posted, and look for some great upcoming pictures from our first trip to Spain!!