I've wanted to run a marathon since I was 15 years old.
I just turned 33. I have 4 kids. I weigh close to 200 pounds. I could find all sorts of excuses, but really, that's all they would be.
This is the beginning of a story. The end is supposed to be in December 2015, with a healthier me having just run every step of a marathon.
I do have goals along the way, and methods to my madness. I know running isn't for everyone, but it's been something I've loved to do since middle school. Maybe it's just part of who I am.
I just finished my "week 2 day 3" of my Couch to 5K (C25K) program. (I know the C25K program works because I did it just a year ago..) It felt great! I didn't particularly want to exercise or walk or run. I'm actually at a hotel all by myself (an incredible birthday gift from my parents!). I ate an entire pound of See's Candies milk chocolates--delicious, by the way--and read a fantastic book (Brain on Fire) which made me think about body image issues and the worries and anxieties that might actually be behind them. Not at all the premise of the book, but a few paragraphs near the end focused my attention on that. This blog is partly to hold myself accountable to myself. Partly to give me something to think about and write about, to chronicle my journey. To keep my journey off my social media page.
My plan is simple:
Run a 5k near the end of February
Run a 10k in April/May
Run a half-marathon in July
Run a marathon in December
I like to plan things, and over-plan well. This training plan I have will let me progress slowly, over the course of the entire year. No cramming. Just plodding along tortoise-like, all year long. So my half-marathon is a trail run, and I'm planning on hiking Half Dome a couple weeks after. Overlapping the training programs, you see. I'm committed to a 5k mud dash in early September with some of my family, and then a 10-12 mile mud run in late October with my dad. I'll have events with family and friends to help keep me in line.
I'd love to lose 10 pounds a month for the first 6 months. I'd love to weigh in around 135 by the end of the year. But for now, I'd really really love to take a shower, put on pajamas, and sleep.
