My new best friend

Hal Higdon ... that name meant absolutely nothing to me prior to January. Sure, I would have known about him if he had been featured on the cover of "People" magazine or if he had opened up some amazing restaurant and was featured on "Top Chef" (I'm very up-to-date on the latest entertainment trends) but, because he is the guru of running, his name was foreign to me. Not anymore.

Hal and I are turning into best friends (sure, that sounds super creepy because it is super creepy). I'm feeling like he's become such a big part of our lives that if Adam and I ever have a son, I'm considering naming him Hal Higdon Mitchell. At this point, I'd even name a daughter after him. Yes, that's how close I'm feeling to this man (I know, I continue to increase my creepiness factor).

It's his marathon training plan that Adam and I are following. We've read countless articles from other runners that followed his plan and successfully completed a marathon and we had a friend recommend his plan. Because we know nothing about training, we needed someone to guide us. Who better than to guide us than the one who helped so many others?

Shockingly, his plan is very manageable. We're currently in Training Week 3 of 18, and I'm shocked at how much it makes sense (if running can make sense). I no longer dread running ... the heat and humidity I most definitely dread, but not the actual running. It's all because of Hal Higdon's daily emails. The night before, we receive an email outlining our training for the next day, along with a message/tip. It's sickening how much we look forward to these emails, although we already know what we're expected to run (when we initially signed up for his training plan, we sat down and outlined everything on our running calendar. I would like to note that this nerdy act was not under my direction - for once, Adam is completely responsible for that one).

The plan is set up where we run 4 days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday). Saturday is our "long running" day (eventually we get up to 20 miles and then taper off) and the other days are short in mileage (anywhere from 3 to 10 miles. By the way, since when did 3 miles become a short run?). We have followed the plan religiously. Hal even says that if you follow his plan, he guarantees that you'll complete the marathon. That's what sold me on his plan. I needed someone to guarantee that I would complete this thing.

We've been getting up by 4:30 am to run during the week. In doing so, we thought we'd avoid the heat. Uh, I was completely fooled because, even at 4:30 in the morning, it is overwhelming hot. Sometimes I feel like I'm running with a heavy blanket over me. If you were running next to me, you would think that I had some serious respiratory issues, which often prompts Adam to ask, "Marena, are you sure you're okay?". Gotta love the Kansas City humidity.

Yet, I still look forward to the runs because of Hal Higdon. Adam and I believe that if we follow his plan, we will, without a doubt, accomplish something together we never imagined possible. How could I not name a child after Hal? Okay, maybe I'll just rename Jasper "Hal" and Stella "Higdon." That way, when I call them in, I can say his name in it's entirety. I know, the creepiness factor only gets creepier the more I talk about him.

I'm pretty certain that my love for Hal will disappear that moment he has me running more than 1o miles (sadly, that occurs on August 7th).