Big news! I’m training for a half marathon. I’m still deciding which and I’ll be sure to share when I do. The two I’m considering are only a week apart in late September so as long as I know by mid August (which is the absolute latest I would ever know and I think it will be more like mid July) I can add a week to training if needed. As it is, I’m following a 12 week training program but am starting a few weeks early on the off chance really good chance definite chance that I’ll want to repeat a week or stick in a step back week. I’m equal parts excited for this new adventure, terrified of the awesome task I have ahead of me, and worried that I won’t have it in me to do this. But I’m working really hard on ignoring that last part.
13.1 miles is not a short distance. I recently drove to southern Connecticut and back over two days and as I approached hour 5 in the car I noticed a sign for the next town that was 14 miles away. And as I drove by the exit for that town this thought crossed my mind. I just drove slightly more than half marathon distance. And even driving that seemed like a lot. Granted, I had gone to CT for a funeral and was spending more than 6 hours in a car in a 30 hour stretch. At that point one mile seemed like a lot. Still. 13.1 miles is no laughing matter.
On the other hand a year ago 5k seemed ridiculously long. These days I laugh in the face of a 5k. Ok, not really. That 3.1 mile distance still kicks my butt. But it used to be 1 mile that kicked my butt. Improvement, no? And I got there because I put the work in. I put miles on the pavement and pushed myself up hills and around extra loops and trudged through the rain. I just have to do that again. Just 4 times as long. Ha. To do that, the next 4 months will be full of training, figuring out what I should be eating, hopefully losing some weight, and I’m sure loads of grunts, guts, tears, and smiles. Maybe not loads of smiles. Running’s hard, yo.
I don’t know about you, but I need motivation. And a lot of it. At this point telling myself “just think how good you’ll feel crossing the finish line” won’t cut it. That moment is 4 months and hundreds of miles down the road. I learned a while ago that dry erase marker goes on and off a mirror pretty easily. And as luck would have it my bathroom is configured in a way that I don’t use a third of my mirror. So I’ve decided to write an inspiring quote on the bathroom that will be the theme, if you will, for each week. And quite frankly I fell off running a bit this winter and I’m stuck up against that mental wall. And I keep almost busting through and wimp out. I’ve got two more weeks of “pre-training” to try to bust through so I need a little inspiration to find that moment of triumph. So this week’s theme? “It doesn’t get easier, you just get better.” I stole that from pinterest. I’m pretty sure it’s been stolen, cannibalized, re-written, and like a middle school game of telephone is nowhere near the original quote. So I can’t find an author. All I know is it’s exactly how I feel. Running will always be hard. But if I stick to it, I’ll get better. And those 13.1 miles will fly by. Hahahaha. I can’t even type that with a straight face. Let’s be real honest. Those 13.1 miles are going to drag by. But with every step another little bit of distance will be gone and at some point 13.1 miles will be over.
And oh the dancing that will occur at that finish line.
rungineered 
You are going to rock it! I'm so proud of you Lizard! I KNOW you can do this and do it well.I'll be happy to go on some training runs with you. Pretty soon, you'll be joining the Liver MARATHON team!!! Yay Liz 🙂
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