Thursday, September 2, 2010

Holy Crap! What have I gotten myself into?

Those were the first thoughts I had after Bethany and I officially signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. I'm committed. There is no backing out now! So, this forty-something Mom of 3, wife to an amazingly supportive man, has decided to run 13.1 miles. This from a person who has NEVER been athletic, has always hated running, and can twist her ankle on thin air, is going to now run a half-marathon. I think I've lost it. Maybe I'll attribute it to a mid-life crisis.

When my darling, sweet little sister approached me with the idea, I laughed at the idea. But secretly, I liked it. Maybe this was the push I needed to accomplish something I NEVER thought I could do. Over the last couple of years I have become a Biggest Loser fan. I have been totally amazed by the transformation the contestants make on the show and then to finish up by running a marathon. WOW! Forget Couch to 5k, try couch to marathon! How inspiring it is to see them fight for their health. Now, let me just say to my sweet sister Bethany, I have no desire sign up for a marathon! Anyway, I couldn't help but think that if these people who were over 250 pounds can lose weight and finish a marathon, why can't I do something like that? So, I looked at all the information that Bethany bombarded me with. Let me just say that she can be very persuasive when she wants something and painted a pretty picture of what it would be like. I have to confess, I too am a sap, and got teary eyed thinking of finishing the race with my sister and what a neat memory that would be for us to have. The question then became, can I actually do it? Can I run/walk a mile in under 15 minutes so I can just FINISH the race, because that is my goal at this point, to just finish.

Bethany told me about a great book called Running for Mortals by Jenny Hadfield and John Bingham. I had to start somewhere so I bought the book, friended Jenny on Facebook, and started reading. I love how approachable Jenny has been on Facebook. I have asked for help from her more than once and she is quick and willing to respond. I love that. Anyway, there was a quote from John Bingham on the first page of the first chapter of the book that described how I felt perfectly. He said, "The miracle isn't that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start." Isn't that statement so true? How many times do we give up before we even start? So, I started. I read the book and started training for a 5k. I'm in week 5 of my training and I can feel myself getting stronger and that my friends, is very motivating.

My first goal is to walk/run my neigborhoods 5k on Saturday, October 9th. Finishing that race/event will just be confirmation to me that I can tackle the bigger challenge of the half-marathon. I can be a runner, even in my forties!

4 comments:

  1. i have that in a bumper sticker :) love that quote!!

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  2. the race is SOOO much fun! All the women are so supportive, very well staffed, there are characters every where, and running through the castle is amazing! I'll see yall there!

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  3. so excited you've accepted the challenge and w/your sister no less! disney pricess was the first 1/2 marathon my sister and i ran together and it was a memorable experience!

    if you're looking for more of a memorable experience, i would highly suggest training w/team in training in your area or even their virtual team--that's what i did (and continue running w/them) check it out www.teamintraining.org

    congrats again and i look forward to reading your posts! i love john bingman too and have been fortunate enough to hear him speak--maybe you will too!

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  4. Wow Ann!!! This is awesome! Sounds like total fun-- and what a great way to challenge yourself and get in shape!! Just reading your blog has inspired me to "get in gear"! Reading about Bethany's rice, steak and lean meat diet was interesting too! How are YOU eating? Are you trying to stick to Weight Watcher points/plan? Or do you have something new and better that is working while you are traning? Please share! Good luck to both of you and keep up the hard work! I can't imagine running out on pavement! I hate running outside on concrete! I don't know if I could do something like this or not just because of the fact that I hate running so much.

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