Here we go. I am about to embark upon another journey, and truthfully, this one scares me to death. Being a person who thrives on setting goals, I am in the process of setting a goal that I am both really excited and intrigued about and so completely terrified about.
This past weekend a couple of friends mentioned that they were going to run the half marathon in the Med City Marathon. I can't remember exactly how we came around to this, but all of a sudden one of them asked me if I would want to run with them. I don't remember what I said at the moment because my mind was reeling. "Could I actually do this? I have thought about it before, but could I actually run half a marathon?"
All day Sunday I processed what it would look like, the training, the time commitment, etc. Talking with Mark and with my dad, both said sure, I could do it if I wanted. Ah, there is the key, is this something I want?
I won't go into the many hours of brain power I have put behind this decision, but as of last night, I told my friend I "think" I am going to do this with you.
The "think" is in there because the race in and of itself intrigues me. Last year E and Addy ran in the Kids Med City Marathon and loved it. When E came home from school talking about it, I wondered if a marathon were something I could ever do. As the months went on and May approached, I had done no training and really made no preparations for it. So we participated in the kid's portion of the race and went on with our summer.
When asked this past weekend if I would like to run in the race, it brought up the thoughts and feelings of I would like to do it, but will I like it? I have never been in a physical condition to enjoy exercise and running. It is not something I have developed the love for yet, but I am excited to see what happens when I do get to a place where I feel like I am physically in shape.
The excitement is what I can accomplish with this goal. I know that upon crossing the finish line, I would feel a great sense of accomplishment. The fear is on the training and the idea of what if I get into this and I find I really dislike running? Thirteen miles is a long time to run if running is not one's thing.
Since I don't know if I like running or not, I am going to move ahead with the training and the preparations, and come May I may be running in a race, or not. If not, I will have had months of exercise and there is nothing wrong with that.
Now to get my running shoes......
Hooray! I am excited, and can relate to all your feelings - it was where I was at when I ran my first 1/2.
ReplyDeletehttp://marathonrookie.com
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00index.htm
These are some great resources. I trained with the top one, my friend Marisa did the Hal Higdon one.
Over all, I found it to be a more spiritual process than a physical one...but it is different for everyone!
Jules,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and for the information. I can't wait to look at it in greater detail.
It will be interesting to see what the journey looks like for me in the months ahead!