A. I will have a baby
B. I will buy a house
C. I will run a marathon
This is a nice little trick. Write down that one thing you are nervous about at this time, then surround it with other more terrifying things that could be true, and voila you don’t feel too bad now, right? Right.
If you picked A, you are my mother-in-law doing cartwheels and naming the twins. If you picked B, you are my dad factoring those tax breaks and buying a 1000inch HD-LED super TV for our housewarming. If you picked C, you are correct (and possibly disappointed).
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is on October 9 2011. I did this silly thing back in February and signed up for it. I have slept a little less soundly since then and of course every weekend that I sat on my ass and watched TV or read a book, I’ve felt guilt for not being out there running and training for the big dance.
Running and guilt go hand in hand. There is always I could have run longer, faster, further, or in my case put on my running shoes and stepped outside.
Though, one thing that did change as soon as I clicked “register” was my appetite. It was ready to eat more, more, more because umm you know I’m running the marathon.
In the last few weeks motivation has come from Gigi who ran the marathon last year, from Komal who just finished a half before her wedding, from Steph who is training for a tri(!), from Devang who looks at me funny when I eat Cheez-its in bed. But finally what did it was the weather. No, it is not warm. But, the sun shows its face every few days now. It has caused me to put the box of Cheez-its aside, turn off the Real Housewives, and strap on my running shoes.
My running is still random. I am in what I call the pre-training for the actual training program. I am experimenting with what I eat before runs, new shoes, new clothes, new distances, without the pressure of having to run a certain amount of miles each day. My longest run was yesterday when I ran 11 miles on Lakeshore Trail.
I am getting used to running in an urban jungle (instead of the shady and secluded trails of DC/MD/VA). I am slowly getting used to the wind factor which on some days has literally caused me to run in place; it is truly fascinating to be running as hard as you can without moving an inch. But the fact that I ran yesterday without feeling miserable makes me believe that I’ll be alright for the most part.
Good luck with the marathon training! After having visited DC I know what you mean about the trails. That path from VA to DC is really nice.
You most definitely be alright. You are way ahead of the game. I don't believe I was doing 11 miles 5 months before the marathon last year.
I think for me the pressure is a bit more this time around than the last time as I want to do better and not worse. Well, we shall see in 5 months.
Oh my word, there is only 5 months left!?! It is just sinking in right now!
It's been a while since I visited, how I've missed you! Thanks for the laugh. Thank goodness it's warming up, will make it easier to stay motivated! On my end, I have not run at all since moving… I feel like a giant paper weight.