Thanks for the kind words everyone!
lm3898 - are you excited about your marathon?? What training plan are you using? I feel like miles 2-7 are my sweet spot. I'm hoping that by running longer and longer distances I get used to the higher mileage...I hope! I haven't tried a mud run yet. All these race registration fees are starting to add up!
elvislover - I only started running, for the first time in my life, in Dec of 2011 using the C25K program. That thing works! I did it by time vs. distance, and I was barely making 2 miles at the end of that program running for 30 mins. It took me a while to get up to an actual 5K distance too. I've gotten faster, but I'm still a pretty slow runner. But you know what they say - no matter how slow you run, you're still lapping everyone on the couch! Thanks for the tip about the mini-goal forum, I will cut and paste there
Kscott - you could run it if you trained for it, I'm sure! Although frankly, most races have time limits, so to come under that time limit walking, you've gotta be hustling! I think that would be a great challenge in itself.
100mother & kitcherella - thanks!!