(1/2) Marathon Monday

Well, it's official, sort of. I haven't sent in my registration, but I have finally conceded to my sister's nudges to run a 1/2 marathon at the end of May.

She just had her second baby at the beginning of December along with one of her friends-- both of them decided to train for the 1/2 marathon to get back in shape and have been encouraging me to do it with them. After a lot of hemming and hawing about why I wanted to wait until a later point in my life, I ran out of excuses and decided this is the time.

I am nervous. I'm also excited. I've decided to share some of what I'm learning, my training, my success and failures in Monday updates over the next 12 weeks while I train.  At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to write about it; not sure if anyone really cared, and also feeling a little weird about calling attention to it, like, "hey, look at me, I'm doing x", but then I  decided two things: that someone else might be encouraged to do something similar in their own lives through my decision to do this, and that in  writing about it here I'm really committing to it because if I quit now and you all know I'll really feel like a loser!

So, why, besides my sister's pestering, am I deciding to do a 1/2 marathon? Well, at first it was a pride thing. A thinking, "I can't sit on my duff and watch her run a 1/2 marathon- if she can do it, so can I!"

Then, it was a weight loss thing. "Hmmm, maybe this is how I'll finally drop the rest of the baby weight!" Big smile...

And then I read this on marathon rookie,

Whether you are training for a marathon or half marathon, it takes a lot more than good old determination and willpower to get you through training and the big day. Let your mind lead the way, not your body.

By the way, why do you want to do this? Don’t let yourself off by stopping at your first answer! Dig deep! Why do you want to run a marathon or half marathon?When you go beyond that first answer, you will begin to realize what is really driving you. When you learn what is really driving you, then you can use that to push yourself through willpower and determination. 

I realized that pride and a little bit of baby weight were not going to be enough of a driving force to get me through this commitment. I dug a little deeper and I realized that I'm committing to this because there are plenty of things in my life I've done half-heartedly. There are things I've started and then quit, there are things I did not do well because I was not disciplined or committed enough, and there are oodles of unmet goals in my life. I'm running this race because I'm sick of seeing myself as a quitter and I want something to prove it. There it is. 

And, just as the above quote said, I've already used this information to fuel my running this past weekend. On Friday I ran 4 miles instead of 3 on the treadmill, and on Saturday, while I was out running another 4 miles with two other women, both in better shape than me and a good 100 meters ahead of me during the entire run, I used it to dig in deep and tell myself that it didn't matter where they were, this is about me and I was not going to quit. And I didn't. I finished the run at my own pace and felt good about it. 


I also had a feeling during both of those runs that this will be tough. That if 4 miles felt tough, how was I ever going to accomplish 13? The answer is, "One day at a time, my dear." (I have to be my own therapist sometimes!) So, the training has started, and if anyone else have ever considered doing such a race this training schedule really isn't as bad as I thought it would be, check it out. 


So, here I am at the beginning weighing in at (gulp) 140 lbs. I'm 5'1 so an ideal weight for me would be more like 120-125ish, and feeling a little like a quitter at times. I will post a few pics and thoughts as I continue and let you know how it goes! The only thing I know for certain is that we'll be taking one day at a time and there is no quitting allowed!