Running the Race, Literally

Here are some goals I would like to accomplish in my life time:

1. Finish college
2. Own a home
3. Have at least one piece of my art displayed in a gallery (even if it is the school gallery)
4. Run a marathon before my husband and I have children
5. Write a book

They are large but achievable right? I don't just say these as some abstract idea of something that I would like to accomplish but has no part of my life. I am currently in college working toward my bachelor's degree, my husband and I are building our credit to be able to get a home loan some day, I am currently in an art class to help refine my drawing skills, and I am training to run a marathon... I will be training to run a marathon... I really want to train to run a marathon, that's it. And, let's just not talk about the book thing right now.

About three years ago I took up the sport of running, so you could say I'm fairly new to the world of running. Soon after I started my journey my goal was to run a marathon, maybe even train to run one within a year... that didn't exactly happen. Not only have I not run a marathon, but I actually haven't run steadily in about 10 months... or so (I don't want to say a year because that sounds much worse). Lately it has really been plaguing me, the desire that is. I say plaguing because A. I am dying to run regularly again B. I don't really want to get off my butt and actually run, and C. I am terrified to actually commit to running a marathon... even if it is months or years in the future.

I go through this cycle about ever few weeks or months where I decide I am going to start running regularly again and then I will start to train for a marathon (as soon as I am back in shape). All of a sudden life will be perfect and the motivation that I need to run a marathon will appear out of thin air because I decided that it will. Obviously I have never run a marathon but, I have a feeling that it takes a lot more than that.

I have heard that the first step toward actually running a marathon is signing up for one. Finding a real life marathon, paying the fee and signing up. I decided I'm not quite ready for that so I'm going to start at square one, a 5k run/walk. That's right, Alex and I have signed up to run our very first race on September 11th of this year! For some a 5k (a whopping 3.1 miles) can sound like a marathon, and others it can sound like a warm up. For me it is somewhere in the middle, not extremely easy but achievable. We started training about two weeks ago and I am remembering why I fell in love with running in the first place. I can't really describe to you what is so great about it; I just feel... empowered, I suppose. We will spend the next 11 weeks in training, which consists of varying running distances, yoga, swimming, pool running, and some walking.

I am not writing this to say "look at me! I'm so fit and I am going to run a 5k!" I do not want to run a marathon to get really fit and lose a bunch of weight. There isn't a cause that I personally am extremely passionate about that I want to raise money for (you have to be pretty passionate about something to be willing to run 26.2 miles for it). The real reason? I want to prove (to myself) that I can accomplish something so much bigger than I have ever dreamed. I want to get to the place where I think I can honestly go no further, and then discover that I have so much more left to give.

I have so many aspirations in life and it is time to finally start going after them. If I want to run a marathon, then I should run a marathon. If that means that I must start at the bottom then that is what I am going to do. If anyone would like to join us in the 7th Annual Dayton Fiesta Run please do!

My new goal: to run a marathon before I turn 26... I have a little over two and a half years to accomplish that. I'll keep you updated.