long shot, but if anybody out there has an invite to newsvine.com, i would love, love, love to have one.

UPDATE: yay! thanks to mike, both tommy and now have accounts, so presumably i can invite other people. let me know if you want one. you can read cyberjournalist's take on newsvine here.

i guess the mental punishment of graduate school isn't really enough for the sadomasochistic likes of me, because i, for whatever reason, just registered for the 2006 national half-marathon taking place in d.c. on march 25 (i'll be home from school from the 18th to the 26th, and it's not like i'd rather spend time with my loved ones or relaxing or anything. i'd much rather be turning my feet into bloody stumps).

the race is the first half-marathon in the area, i believe, so i'm excited about that. i'm also excited that i was able to register at all, because, in a weird move, they actually have qualifying times. i thought at first i wouldn't be able to do it because you needed to have run a marathon in 4:30, and when i did the marine corps marathon in 2004, i ran something like 4:34. but, lo and behold, you can also qualify by having run under 2:10 in a previous half-marathon or under 1:40 in a 10 miler race, both of which i've done. so. yay.

my last official race was the 2004 marine corps marathon so i am, how do you say, woefully fat and out of shape and terrified by the fact that i will have to self-train for this stupid race. previously i've always had friends to train with or an official program. the past couple of months i've been running four miles a few times a week pretty regularly, just to work out, but training for this will obviously have to go beyond that.

additionally, any chicagoans who have insights about race training/running paths, please fill me in - i can train to a certain point up on a treadmill, but i can't exactly see the staff at the gym being thrilled with me running on a treadmill for two hours at a time. oh my god. i just realized my main training will have to take place in january and february, outside, IN CHICAGO. PROBABLY ALONG THE LAKEFRONT. I AM MENTAL.

excuse me while i go run five miles to quell the rising self-doubt.