Day 4 (7/30): 2.5 miles / 32 minutes

This morning’s run began at 6:20 a.m. and was surrounded by a thick fog. I had decided that it was time to increase my distance and not focus on the amount of time it took me to finish. The most troubling part of this run would be that I would have to pass my house after a mile and a two-tenths of a mile shortcut at the end. This would take some determination.

After my first mile, determination wouldn’t really be an issue. After checking the time I see that it’s taken me 16 minutes to run it. That certainly hasn’t earned me the right to stop, so I have no trouble staying on course.

What really threw me off though was the crazy fog. I’m someone that normally likes to see where I’m going. I prefer to see the finish line so I can stay focused on it. Today this was not an option. I was forced to focus on the short distance ahead of me. Talk about poetic. Mother nature has a way of reminding me that I need to first work on accomplishing the small goals before worrying about the big ones. So, instead of thinking about when I might be ready for 26.2 miles, I’ll be working solely on training for a 5k. This goal seems far more attainable at this point and I feel that if I’m able to run 2.5 within my first week, I should have no issues with 3.1.

I had been contemplating when I might be ready for a 5k and had originally been leaning towards September. The problem with that is that a marathon will take me forever to train for if I’m not even serious enough to commit to the 5k as soon as I’m able to do it. No one says I need to finish first… I just need to finish. So, I decided to run two and a half miles today and see how I feel before making my decision.

At the end of my run I’m feeling pretty good and realize that if I’m ready for two and a half miles now, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be able to finish a 5k by the end of August. Two and a half miles took me 32 minutes and I’m pretty happy with that. It’s official - I will set my sights on the North Olmsted Kiwanis 5k in August. I’ll need to check out last year’s finishing times to verify that I’m not likely to finish last (don’t get me wrong, I have no intention of finishing first, but I’m fairly certain it would break my heart to be the last one across the finish line). Of course, this also means I have no choice but to run on vacation… I guess that’s one way to keep me from drinking too much :)

Day 3 (7/29): 1.5 miles / 16 minutes

Today’s adventure started at 4:40 a.m.  This was most definitely not by choice.  I believe this warrants a serious chat with my 18 month old son.

Unfortunately for my husband, this meant his day also got off to a much earlier start than he’d anticipated.  Thank goodness he supports this marathon thing!  Getting up 20 minutes earlier today meant I was able to get my run in this morning while it was only 80 degrees instead of waiting until this evening when it would have been in the 90s.  And, while it still took me a few minutes to get motivated enough to lace up those running shoes of mine, I was really glad I did it.

I’ve heard the saying a million times: you learn something new every day.  Well, today I learned that a large portion of our neighborhood waters their lawn at 5:00 a.m.  Mental note to self: check out these lawns during daylight hours to determine if this is something we should be doing.  I have no problem admitting that we’re one of those couples always trying to keep up with the Joneses... not necessarily when it comes to worldly possessions, but my husband sure does appreciate a nice lawn.

I start my mile and a half run at a pretty good pace and, not pushing the stroller, I’m feeling far less weighed down.  And I’m loving the lack of traffic through the neighborhood… there’s no one outside to watch me struggle through my newfound pastime.  About half way through, I find myself feeling overwhelmed and, of course, tired.  I refuse to slow my pace, but I can feel every muscle in my body telling me I’ve completely lost my mind.  My brain is only half functioning at this ungodly hour and I am seriously lacking enthusiasm.  Since my mind isn’t interested in a motivational pep talk at the moment, I decide to try not thinking negative thoughts and instead focus on all that I have in my life to be positive about.  Today is my seven year anniversary with my husband.  We have an amazing son that finds new ways to entertain us daily.  We have steady jobs and, more importantly, our health.  I consider just how far I’ve come in the last seven years of marriage and the past thirty years of life.  I realize how much I have to be thankful for and, before I know it, I’m only two tenths of a mile from home.  I’m amazed at how much distance I was able to cover while contemplating all of the positive things in my life.  It was an excellent reminder that not everything in life is easy, but staying focused on the good in your life makes the difficult times much easier to get through.  Life can’t always be perfect, but surely there is always something to be thankful for, something uplifting in your life to help get you through. 

I pick up my pace for the last leg of my run and immediately regret it.  Second note to self: you’re still not in shape… don’t pretend otherwise.  Nonetheless, I make it back home in 16 minutes… just in time to start getting ready for work.  My husband doesn’t look too happy to see me, but I’m guessing that has more to do with the fact that he’s not much of a morning person.  No doubt he’s already thinking about going back to bed when I leave.  Nonetheless, I give him a kiss before heading upstairs to get ready and wish him a happy anniversary.  He does not yet notice the Snickers I left on the counter for him, but he’ll get to that when he really wakes up.  For now, I simply smile and appreciate all of the quirks that make my husband who he is and remember all of the reasons I love him.  A morning person he may not be, but I definitely appreciate everything he is.

Now it’s time for that serious chat with my son about his recent sleeping habits… what do you mean he’s back in bed?  How convenient…

Day 2 (7/27): 1 mile / 11 minutes

Alright… who’s the wise guy that put weights in my shoes? 

And, for the love of god, I ran in a circle… how is it possible that my entire route was uphill?!?

So, it’s day 2 of my marathon training and I decided to stick with a one mile run.  I did, however, change routes (wouldn’t want to get bored this early in the training process) and I’m quite certain that today’s one mile route is much longer than yesterday’s.  No, no… really.  Okay, not really.  But I’ve somehow managed to run slower this time around and, while I’m still not particularly disappointed in that fact, I will admit that I did have higher expectations.  I suppose what I needed more than anything was a reality check, so at least I can say I was successful in that department.  There was no doubt that I needed to be reminded just how long this project of mine is going to take.  I figure, at this rate, I just might finish that marathon by the time my son graduates from college.  Perfect!

I’m sad to say, however, that I wasn’t filled with nearly as much optimism this time around.  I struggled with the idea of the long road ahead (literally and figuratively, of course).  I couldn’t help but think about how long this goal was going to take me to reach.  I mean, really?  A whole year?  On one goal?  I had to keep telling myself that, come next year, I’ve got two options… I could give up and simply be one year older and nowhere close to my dream, or I could be succeeding at something I’d really set my mind to.  The difference is how I spent the next twelve months.  Sure, sitting on the coach with a cold frosty beverage sounds more appealing at the moment, but that’s what I was doing last year and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere exciting.  The time has come to fill my days with something slightly more productive.

Helping to inspire me in this dream is the fact that my husband will shortly be going back to school to fulfill a dream of his own… getting his masters degree.  I can’t even imagine choosing to go back to school at this point and I’m so excited for him to get started.  And, with the program taking two years to complete, I figure I should reach my goal before he reaches his, which gives me extra incentive to work hard… not that I’m at all competitive!  :)

So, with my shoes irritating my already blistered feet, I trudge on, determined to get the most out of my run.  My trusty cell phone tells me I’ve finished this mile in 11 minutes and, even though I’m out of breath, I tell myself that I’ve done well today and, after a day off tomorrow, I plan to attempt a mile and a half on Friday.  Oddly enough, even though I’ve struggled through today’s run, there’s not a doubt in my mind that I can handle more.  For now, it’s time to stuff my face with pizza as my reward for a job well done.  The running starts now… the balanced diet comes later.

Day 1 (7/26): 1 mile / 10 minutes

I have no idea what made me think I should start running today.  I ended last evening with 3 glasses of wine and started my morning with half a pot of coffee and a cigarette.  I’m not someone who should be running right now.  Nonetheless, here I am.  I begin my workout with a quarter mile walk… behind a stroller… so far, so good (although I am certain that my 18 month old son is laughing at me).  When I get to the beginning of my one mile route, I pause for a moment: I tell myself I’m just making sure my muscles are loose and I’m ready to go… I’m really making sure none of my neighbors are driving by.  I start at what I consider a good pace and, after about 15 feet, decide it’s much too fast.  The block I’m planning to run suddenly seems much longer than I anticipated and I decide I’d better slow down.  Sadly, I can also acknowledge that I don’t want to finish too fast as it would set the bar too high for my next run… I must allow myself a starting point with room for improvement in order to stay motivated.  About a quarter of a mile in I start to think this isn’t such a great idea after all.  It’s not that I don’t feel I can do it or even that I’m out of breath.  I am realizing, however, that it has been two and a half years since I last ran on a treadmill and more than twelve years since I last ran a competitive race.  That was high school.  I didn’t smoke or drink and I probably ate a balanced diet.  These facts are no longer true.  The reasons I should not run a marathon are stacking up in my brain and I decide to change directions and focus on why I should.  Those reasons are too few, so I back track a little further and consider what brought me to this decision in the first place.  Damn you, Lou Holtz.

Here I am, at the age of 30, coming to the ridiculous conclusion that I should run a marathon.  Really?!?  Who does this?  I suppose I could blame my husband to some degree.  He’s the one that suggested I read Lou Holtz’s Winning Every Day.  Lou wants us to believe that it’s possible to achieve any goal (sure it is) and suggested making a list of things you want to accomplish during your lifetime.  How in the world did ‘run a marathon’ end up at the top?!?

Then again, my husband’s book suggestion didn’t come out of nowhere.  It really started back in January when I made the New Year’s resolution to become a better wife.  No one actually knows that was my New Year’s resolution.  It was my little secret.  I instead chose to share more acceptable resolutions that people could understand… ones that I felt could help make me a better wife.  One was cleaning.  Lord, how I hate cleaning.  But my husband is one that really appreciates a clean house.  Don’t get me wrong, he does not expect me to keep the house clean… he does an amazing job of that himself.  I simply decided that I would play a more active role in the process.  This resolution lasted roughly two and a half weeks.  Sorry, honey.  My second resolution was to deal with the clutter.  My husband insinuates that I’m a pack rat.  Trust me, I’ve seen the show Hoarders… I am no such thing.  I can, however, acknowledge that I may hang on to more than necessary.  Thus far, this resolution is actually going quite well and we made several hundred dollars selling a bunch of crap we didn’t use anyway.  I’m afraid this one will have to stay with me for the long haul, though.  It’s really easy to accumulate junk, so this ‘resolution’ will need to turn into a regular habit.  Ugh.  It’s my third resolution, however, that really did me in.  I decided to read one non-fiction book every month for the entire year.  The book had to be something inspiring, motivational or written on a topic that I didn’t know much about.  I knew I’d want to read a little on politics – one of my husband’s favorite topics and a subject that I avoid like the plague.  I believe the motivational books were meant to help me get through the political ones and the inspirational books were meant to remind me that there are worse things than reading about politics.  Surprisingly enough, I actually quite enjoyed the books on politics and, as expected, it resulted in more stimulating conversation with my husband whenever the topic arose.  I had assumed that politics would be my toughest subject.  Boy, was I wrong.

At the end of June’s non-fiction: Broke, by Glenn Beck, I was completely burned out.  I loved the book, but good lord, I needed a break.  That’s when Lou’s book was suggested.  My husband called it a quick and easy read.  Who knew that a book I could read in a week could completely turn my next year upside-down.  But, there’s no doubt, it definitely qualified as motivational and inspiring.  So much so that I’m out here sweating my ass off convincing myself that I can, indeed, run 26.2 miles.

As I’m nearing the finish line of this seemingly endless run, I look down at my son sitting in his stroller and enjoying the not-so-fast-paced ride and realize what I was missing twelve years ago when I lost interest in running… a reason to stick with it.  Sure, staying in shape is always a reason to work out, but I’ve been fairly lucky thus far and have managed to stay near what I consider a healthy weight throughout my twenties without much effort.  But in thinking about my son, I realize I want only the best for him… a happy and successful life.  I want him to learn what it’s like to work hard and reach a goal.  I want him to know that anything is possible.  I want him to believe in himself and his dreams.  And even though he has no understanding yet of what it is I’m doing, I know that some day he will.  And I don’t want to sit back and wait for someone else to teach him these important lessons.  I want to be the kind of parent that sets an example for him.  And I want him to one day look back at his crazy mom running a marathon and think, hey, if she can do it, so can I.

I reach the corner and take out my cell phone (yes, my cell phone… I refuse to invest any money on this endeavor until I’m certain I’m in it for the duration, which includes the simple things like a stopwatch) and find that, to my astonishment, I’ve run my first mile in 10 minutes.  I suppose I could be disappointed in that time.  After all, I used to run that distance in about half that time.  But today I’m thrilled.  I’ve taken my first step.  I’ve officially begun this chapter of my life.  I’m a runner again.

Of course, I now realize that I’ve got a whole lot of work ahead of me.  And, unfortunately, I’m not one to put too much effort into anything.  Most new hobbies end before they’ve really begun and this one will require a whole lot of self-discipline.  Lou’s book may become a frequent read over the course of the next year.  But for now, I’m full of inspiration and the belief that, 20 years after first thinking that this was a goal I would one day strive for, “I can do this”.