What have I done?

I signed up for the 2008 Cooper River Bridge Run, which is a 10K held in Charleston on April 5. And I signed up in the category that says I can do it in less than an hour. Now that's not very fast. And 10K isn't really all that far. But it is farther than I've ever run at once. Plus I have a tendency to get repetitive stress injuries when I try to start running, so the idea of building up to a respectable 10K time in 11 ½ weeks is a little daunting. So, this time I'm going to play it smart. I'm going to do my level best to stick with the program that's in the Beginning Runner's Handbook (which I picked up at a used bookstore some time ago). It's a 13 week program, so I'll have to modify it slightly, but it builds up nice and gradually into a 10K run. It's hard to hold back at the beginning (my lungs, heart, and the majority of my muscle groups are asking me to go faster), but I think that if I plan wisely and stay the course I'll actually be ready for race time. Perhaps there is a metaphor for life in all of this?