The 13.1 Mile Journey to Finding Myself

A couple of weeks ago I posted on my Facebook page that I signed up to run a half-marathon in November, and you were all so encouraging and proud of me for it. I loved the feeling of being this brave and motivated person, but the truth is, there isn’t anything to be proud of yet. I haven’t run since I signed up for the half-marathon or made any changes that might get me closer to crossing the finish line. I did waste another two weeks telling myself that this would be the week that I started running again. My running story is a complicated one.

Running is what I do, or at least what I used to do. Right before I went to college, my dad and I decided that we wanted to run a half-marathon together. So we did. We both trained our butts (mine literally) off and ran our hearts out in that first race in Athens, Ohio. And my dad bought me a heart-shaped necklace to remind me that when we put our heart into something, incredible things can happen.

After that first race, my dad and I decided to make a goal to run one half-marathon in every state. Our goal started off slow with one or two a year for the first few years. Each race was a little different but each had something in common – it gave me a chance to see my dad and create new memories with him.

And then I got married.

And the half-marathons stopped. I made up excuses to not run, gained weight, and lost my confidence. After a three year break, my dad convinced me that it was time to run another race, and I trained harder than I ever have before. You can read more about it in this post, but I finally found myself again during my training. We also added my sister to the half-marathon mix, and I started building an incredible relationship with her. Over the next few years, we flew around the country spending race weekends together every couple of months. From Hawaii to the middle of nowhere Iowa, we ran. My sister and I searched for the best shirts at each of the race expos, we joked about who had the best running playlist, and we ran with my dad toward the finish line together. And we even made the crazy decision to run the Marine Corp Marathon. Beating the bridge is on my top 10 list of most incredible moments of my life.

And then I got pregnant.

And again the half-marathons stopped, or at least my running of them stopped. My dad is still running; he’s just doing it without me. This time my dad is too polite  to give me the kick in the pants that I need to start running again so I’m going to have to do it myself. This anonymous quote (modified slightly) that I found while searching for training plans hit me hard. I’ve been avoiding running because I’m afraid that I can’t do it. But if I don’t start, I never will do it. And once I do it, I can spend the rest of my life knowing that I did.

So here goes nothing. For the next 12 weeks, I will be posting each Sunday about my training plan for the week as well as a recap of my running from the week before. And because honestly, running sucks sometimes, okay a lot of the time, I’m going to be completely honest about my experience. If I don’t run that week, you’re going to know about it. I’m hoping that having to write about it here will motivate me to actually run because it’ll be embarrassing to write 12 posts that say I couldn’t run this week because [insert lame excuse here].

This blog will by no means become a fitness blog but just a small glimpse into my journey from couch potato to a confident runner going into that race on November 16th. My running journey isn’t over, it’s just at a fork in the road; this time I’m taking the right turn and here’s the direction I’m headed.

This Week’s Training Plan
Monday – Run 2 Miles
Tuesday – Run 2 Miles
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Run 2 Miles
Friday – Cross train for 30 minutes
Saturday – Run 2 Miles
Total Workouts: 5
Total Miles: 8

I hope you’ll support me on this 12 week journey and when I say support, I mean if I don’t post on Sunday you ask me where my recap is. And if I skip a run without a REALLY good reason, let me have it. And I would love to support you in your goals as well. Come by each week and tell me what your goals are so I can follow along with your progress and encourage you too, kind of like our own little virtual support team.

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