I registered for a half marathon that takes place in May. My intent was twofold: to eliminate some unhealthy habits and have some motivation to help in my efforts. I knew that if I formally registered (and roped a good friend into the process) I’d be committed to following through. I ran a half once before and while I would equate the experience with natural childbirth, the feeling of exhilaration and accomplishment that washed over me when I was finished made up for the pain during.

Cut to two months post-registration and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve run. Simply put, I have no desire at the moment. I could blame it on winter, lack of time or any number of things. But those are lame excuses. The fact of the matter is I have a gym membership, access to treadmills and plenty of time if I just made it a priority. In my defense, I’ve done some strength training and kickboxing workouts, and while they’re good for you, they’re not running, which is what you need to do to have the endurance to log 13.1 miles in (hopefully) 2 hours or less.

So yesterday in a panic I looked at the calendar to determine how many days until the race: 66. That’s a little more than 9 weeks to train. I perused some training plans and the consensus is that it’s totally doable. However, these training plans assume you’ve been running fairly regularly so that you’ve built up your endurance to help with longer runs. They should not assume that about me.

So today, as I write this, I’m turning over a new leaf. I’m admitting publicly that I have been lazy as all get out and it’s time to pay the piper. I brought my running gear with me to work so that I can go directly to the gym afterwards. Because if I go home first the couch will call and it’s all over from there. I also got a new pair of running shoes that I’m hoping will make me feel more like a gazelle than a penguin. Finally, I read this Runner’s World article, which lists 101 tips and inspirational quotes to motivate me to continue to put one foot in front of the other.

So what about you? Ever set lofty goals, only to be disappointed you don’t follow through? What’s your secret to staying motivated? Hit me up in the comments.