This time I started up after hearing my wife talk about a guy at work who just ran a half-marathon here in Tacoma not too long after having part of his lung removed for medical reasons. That inspired me for some reason, so now I have a goal to run the Tacoma half-marathon next spring. My wife has agreed to do it, too, so I’ve done a bit of research and set us up a reasonable training schedule.

In the shorter term, we’re planning to run the Bank to Bay 10K in Tacoma in September. In the even shorter term we’re thinking about running the 5K course of the Sound to Narrows run in June.

A co-worker recently bought a Nike+ Kit that lets you keep track of your running data with an iPod Nano, and with me being easily influenced by friends when it comes to gadgetry, I bought one, too (and a 4GB Silver Nano).

To break it in, I decided to run 5K along Tacoma’s beautiful Ruston Way waterfront. I finished in 26:17. I was pleased with that, though I had to push myself at the end to keep going. The nice woman in my Nike+ kit was helpful when she counted down the last few 100 meters. Hearing “Only 300 meters to go” really helps in some way.

(Or see my run on Runner+)

I’m hoping with the combination of having goals (running events), a training schedule (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday), some fancy gadgetry and data (Nike+), and a running partner (my wonderful wife), I’ll be able to keep this up for the long term.