This is probably a bad idea.

And by "bad", I mean simply that the top reactions to this idea are either a) sincere horror, b) a mildly sarcastic "Good luck..." or c) immediate and complete dismissal.

So, what's wrong with me? Why, oh why on God's green earth am I attempting this?

And here we go. "This" is the New England Relay, a non-stop relay race touching all six states of New England (and for those of you unfamiliar with the geography, they include Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine). More information is here: http://www.newenglandrelay.com/

The course is 220 miles, meant to be run with either 6- or 12-person teams, and the map is admittedly frightening:

(http://www.newenglandrelay.com/images/map.gif)

Words of encouragement from the organizers of this delightful monstrosity are as such: "Nothing builds camaraderie like a dozen perpetually hungry, tired, sweaty, smelly, tired runners driving around in two vans living on bananas, bagels, granola bars and Gatorade. Right?"

....Yes.... right.

So, how am I qualified to do this?

I'm not, really, which makes tracking my progress all the more interesting.

Despite being fairly active in childhood and up through high school, including countless hours on the soccer field and ski runs, team sports and anything other than spotty, because-I'm-bored exercise ceased to exist. I jogged when I felt like it, lifted in the gym when I couldn't help with the boxes on moving day and did some sit-ups on the living room floor when the Olympics were on in a rush of guilt. Even when I was in pretty good shape during the soccer years, that kind of running consisted of 15-second sprints that were definitely not going to help me in my mile test in gym class. As far as I can recall, my best mile time was 7:14. And it hurt. And I was 15 years old.

So the plan is simple.

1) Connive, sweet-talk and/or emotionally blackmail my boyfriend, Adam, to do this with me. [Check!]

Note: This has other pros besides the obvious companionship and motivational upsides. Adam ran varsity track for a long time and knows how to get ready for something like this - a skill which I lack. Oh, and he can get in shape, too. Ha!

2) Set up a training schedule that first focuses on strength and overall fitness and then goes to longer distance running. [Check!]

3) Eat all the right food, and enough of it, and DON'T OVERDO EXERCISE. [ ]

Note: This part is hard for me, because I'm the kind of person to rabidly latch onto a new idea and not want to waste any time, and this will probably lead to injuries or getting burned out early.

4) Get going! [ ]

5) Don't stop! [ ]