Pre-Training

Thanks for stopping by as I begin my journey towards completing my 1st Marathon.  The tabs above will give you a little introduction to who I am and what my goals are.  But if you find yourself  a little impatient (I think we all do this time of year), you can dive right in below.

I like to call this time of year when I sit on my butt and watch cheesy holiday movies, while stuffing my face with the many sugary Christmas treats given to me my colleagues, Pre-Training.  Of course, don’t forget to throw in my occasional 6 mile weekly runs and that’s where I’m at right now.

I’m following the Hal Higdon Marathon Training schedule, filled with 18 weeks of running bliss, so I figure I have until January 1^st to really get into gear.  According to his plan, my casual weekly runs of 6 miles are exactly what I need when I approach the rigorous schedule set out by his book.  I want to be ready, but I also don’t want to start the schedule too soon and get bored by the time May rolls around.

So, with my body on the casual, but steady route to getting ready (minus those cookies I had at my husband’s work Christmas Party), I figured that what I really need to focus right now on is getting my mind ready. 

26.2 miles.  Yes, you read that right. For all your casual runners, this may seem like 23 miles too long. For all you serious runners, this may seem like a piece of cake.  And for all you non-runners, well, this number will probably not mean much to you unless you time it on your speedometer the next time you find yourself driving to work. 

To me, well, this number has taken on different meanings over the past year or so.

Last year, I would have thought running 26.2 miles was an impossible feat.   

“My body is not made for running that many miles,” I exclaimed to my sister-in-law, who having ran quite a few marathons in her life, was attempting to rope me into the fad.  Heck, I never thought I could run more than 5.

But then I ran a 10 mile race and loved it. So I challenged myself to a ½ Marathon as my New Year’s Resolution.  And I enjoyed that too (although if you had asked me at the hill on Mile 11, I may have replied
with a few curse words differently).  When I approached the ½ Marathon’s finish line, I ran across it like I had just came in 1^st place!  It was an incredible feeling of accomplishment.

That moment opened up a new field of possibilities.   I thought to myself, Maybe I can run more than 13.1 miles. But 26.2? I still don’t know about that. That’s insane.

Then in June, my father was emitted into the Hospital with Congested Heart Failure. He stayed there all summer, being poked and prodded, getting test after test, and procedure after procedure.  He was placed on the transplant list and we waited.  And waited. Feeling scared and anxious. Praying and hoping.  But my dad stayed courageous and strong through it all. And he received his new heart and feels better than ever before.

This event made me rethink a lot of things in my life, and I began to reevaluate what is truly important in the short time we have on earth. One of the things that crossed my mind was that if my dad could endure all the waiting and pain and unknown, then I could certainly muster up the strength and courage to push myself to my own limits, both physically and mentally.  I want to run this race for my dad, to show him how much I admire his strength, optimism and faith. To prove to myself that I am a little like him. And to do what so many people with heart conditions cannot; RUN.

So here I am, getting myself mentally prepared.  What better way to do this than to write a blog?  I want to tell my dad’s story. I want to educate others about Heart Disease and Organ Donation. I want to share my joy of running. I want to challenge myself more than I ever have.  I want to find my own courage and strength. But I will need support from friends and family, and people who have found themselves once before in my shoes; tying up their own laces,  filling up their water bottles, and getting ready for an incredible adventure.

So please join me on my journey to a place where at the moment I can only imagine myself being- the finish line after 26.2 miles.