Several people have indicated to me that they plan to accept my invitation to run the Country Music Half Marathon (or Full Marathon). Awesome. I get excited about doing it together. This will be great.

A few said that they planned to train with their spouses. So, that got me to thinking … why not encourage this? The Bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10).

So, here’s the deal, if your spouse will run, too, I will give you both a t-shirt and reimburse you both for your entry fee if you both complete the race. However, I will only give you one gift card to the Mirror. (You were going to take your spouse, right?) Make sure that you email Suzanne Thompson once your spouse has registered. That way we can add them to the list and get you an additional t-shirt.

And—thanks to Vicki, my assistant, who challenged my thinking—if you want a $100 gift card to some other restaurant or store, I am willing to do that, too. The bottom line is that I want to see you succeed.

Several people have also forwarded to me some training resources that I would like to pass on:

• Hal Higdon, author of a bunch of books on running, has a great Web site with specific training for half marathons. In fact, he has different plans for novice, intermediate, and advanced runners, as well as for walkers.
• Jeff Galloway, another well-known runner, also has a great Web site with training resources. He has a specific plan for half marathoners.
• The Cool Running Web site has a similar set of plans for half marathoners.
• My brother-in-law, Jack Parsons, recommended Chi Running to me. I ordered the book and the DVD and am reading through the book now. It’s excellent. It focuses on injury-free running.
• Finally, I have just finished reading Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes’ biography. This book is over the top. I’m not sure if Dean is super-human or just crazy. But the book has really cranked me up. I don’t plan to be an ultra-marathoner (by definition anything longer than a marathon), but I am totally convinced that I can do more than I think I can. That’s the value of the book. If you need a little extra motivation—and a great read!—this is the one.

If you have other resources that would be helpful, please add them to the comments section below.

Technorati Tags: dean karnazes, disciplines, exercise, goalsetting, marathon, motivation, running

Related posts:

• The 2008 Half Marathon Challenge
• Half Marathon Update
• The Half Marathon Sign-up Contest
• So You Want to Run a Half Marathon?
• The 2009 Half Marathon Challenge