Full of Emotion

207 days ago I signed up for the Williams Route 66 Marathon, 207 days ago I started my quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon, 207 days ago I set out on a mission to truly establish myself as a worthy long distance runner, 207 days ago I set out to make a statement to myself as to who I am, a runner.

The past several months I have been on a journey to try and define who I am, and what I do. It seems as though that is what I am suppose to do. I am suppose to establish goals in my life, make all the proper choices, align all of my experiences to reach said goal. We are encouraged to define our life, our purpose in this world, our reason for existence. We are influenced by money, by opportunity, and by status.

Yesterday I was reminded that my purpose is not defined by what I do or who I am. My purpose is not to be known as a good long distance runner. My purpose is not to bask in my glory. My purpose is to exude the glory of God. I think for the last several months I was making things about me, about what I can do, and about what I wanted to be known for doing.

Sadly I fell short of the goal I set for myself for the marathon. The conditions were tough, and I believe all runners experienced setback(funny because I talked about that in a previous post). My time suffered because of the weather and my body gave out on me. I was not able to reach my goal time of 3hrs 10mins to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Although frustrated, and full of emotion I still was able to put up a good race. I am not done with marathons, I have many goals in mind, but I desire more than anything to use this gift I have been given to bring Glory to God.

Thank you so much to all of you who supported me through my training and definitely who have been reading my posts. I am not done running, nor am I done writing.

Patience is a Virtue.....What?

So I have never really been a very patient person. Standing in lines at an amusement park drive me crazy, there is nothing amusing about that. Sitting at a red light when there is no one else at the intersection is painful. Standing 4 people deep at the grocery store check out line while someone digs through all their possessions for 5 cents just floors me. Okay so you get my point, here I am two days before my race and the minutes seem like hours, the hours like weeks. Come ON!!!

(Note to self.....become more patient).....which is very funny because a strong tactic for running a long distance race is patience, understanding your body and when to make your adjustments. Trying to establish your pace and your body mechanics is a very time demanding challenge which requires.....Patience.....so why am I so horrible at this minor challenge?

I think I am simply excited. I have been out of the sport for almost three years and I am eager to jump back in. Also I am attempting a new personal record, bottle that all together with fear and anxiousness and that is my situation as I write. It's okay to be impatient and excited at this point, considering all the work you put into training.

Are you an impatient person?

Thats a Wrap!!!

On August 2nd I began my 16 week training schedule that I had created during the summer months. First of all let me just throw in a quick word on the importance of developing a training schedule if you are planning to attempt any kind of long distance race. This is a great way to create a visual goal and allow yourself to see your progress along the way. I will be honest training can be fun if you make it fun.

Now I digress in saying that sticking to your training schedule is another issue. I designed my schedule to be pretty intense with some speed work being the consistency of my midweek workouts. I would be lying if I said that is exactly what i did. Again, by throwing in a spring tri, a 5k, and a 15K my training took many shapes and forms throughout it's duration. However I am happy to say it is complete, as of 6:42 this morning I logged my last training mile.

If you are just beginning to run or maybe your are still considering this sport, your training is something that can become another relationship in your life. In my case, I do my training in the early morning hours, so this tends to be the start of my days. For so long it because natural to wake up to a dark room, lace up and head out the door. For others it can be known as your lunch hour, or your free time after the kids go to bed. Training is very time demanding but can be an incredible time in your journey.

Training can also be frustrating and tiresome. 16 weeks is a long time, especially when you go through season/weather changes. Some days your are more than excited to pound the pavement, others you just force yourself to knock out some miles. I guarantee the whole way you will learn things about yourself and what you are capable of. I will be honest I am so happy today was my last training day. Now the I just get to have Fun on race day!!

Do you have a great Training Story?

Run for Fun?

For those of you who don't know, the best movie trilogy of all time ended with a salute to the old west. I am talking about Back to the Future. In the final of the three films, Marty (Michael J. Fox) has to go back to 1885 to save Doc Brown (Christopher Loyd) from being shot by Bufford "Maddog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson).

At a later point in the film, Doc is idled up to the bar at the saloon explaining the future to a table of gambling townies and he is describing the future form of transportation as being automobiles. The townies ask him, if everyone drives one of these automowhatsies then does anyone walk or run? Doc replies with "of course people walk or run but for recreation" towny replies "Run for Fun?"

I laugh at this scene because that is the reaction I receive from so many when I get excited about running. To those of you who have not experienced a foot race such as a marathon or smaller, I promise you there is nothing quite like it. The feeling of accomplishment, the welcoming into that elite group, the camaraderie of the sport, and the battle to succeed. I honestly get excited the more I write about it.

I am so giddy and excited about this weekend. Some people golf, some fish, others may even hunt. I RUN!!

GU,Bandaids,Peanut Butter, & Vaseline...

What do these have in common.....usually not much, unless you are a runner. This is the beginning of Race Week for me.

On April 29th was the day that I purchased my entry into the 2010 Williams Route 66 Marathon and in less than 6 days on Sunday the gun will sound. So this week I am going give you my thoughts on race preparations and also alot of random thoughts I have leading up to this weekend.

As I was out on an early morning jog last week, I reminded myself that it has been 2.5 yrs since I ran a marathon and I am trying to increase my speed? That is crazy considering I turned 26 last week as well. So I naturally got a little nervous.

More than anything I am excited, I am so ready to get back into the marathon. I honestly feel like a kid on Christmas morning (like the reference to this time of year). Call me sick, call me absurd but I love this sport and I can't wait for that gun to sound on Sunday morning.

Now remember today is just Monday!!! We will see how things are come Saturday.

What is something that gets you overly excited?

Losers say What......What?

So I will just blatantly admit it. I am a horrible blogger. Yes for those 5 of you who follow my blog it has been 44 days since I last published. I apologize.....to say that I feel like I always have something clever to say or even share would be absurd. But I do admit I enjoy trying to contribute something to these passions that I talk about in my life. So I will just progress as if no time has lapsed. Deal?

Well I am 9 days away from my marathon, my training has taken many different forms and surprises. I through a sprint triathlon in there as well as a 5K, and a 15K. So to say that I have been solely focused on 26.2 miles would be a lie. Although I do not recommend interrupting your training with multiple events, I would not have had it any other way. Preparing for the triathlon was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Certainly running in some smaller events is always a blast as well.

To those who are considering running, my advice is to jump in. This sport will provide you with more joy, frustration, anger, fear, loyalty, success, and love than any other outdoor event I guarantee. I am always excited to hear about people who ran a 5K for the first time or those that are training for their first marathon and how they completed it.

Keep up the good work and I promise to not be such a stranger to those who are reading.

(Meg.....it's going to be a blue cake I promise!!!)