Wednesday, July 9, 2014

I have something big to tell you all. 

I have been surprisingly quiet about this. For many reasons.
  • Fear of failure
  • Fear of not following through
  • Fear of not being able to do it
I have been running for almost 3 years now. During that time I have done three half marathons, two 20ks, a couple 10Ks, several 5Ks and one 10 miler.

MANY people have asked, "When are you doing a full marathon?" Usually I would just smile politely and say that I didn't think a full was ever in my future. Only during one of the half marathons did I feel good as I finished.

Well, never say never. Right?

I am training for a full marathon. And, I might be an idiot.






Or, I could just be a glutton for punishment ...

Last year I began running with See-Us Run Des Moines, which is a running group out of Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. The group pairs an adult mentor runner with a student and together you train for a full marathon. Last year I ran with the group, but I was adamant that it was not the year for a full. My first year of teaching is hard enough, I knew throwing a full marathon into the mix would not be a good idea. I was right.



Now, a year later .... What is my excuse? Oh, yeah, I don't have one!! For me, running a full marathon is something that I want to say I did. It is a bucket list thing. I want to be able to say I trained my body to do it, and I did it. I do not care about time at all, and if it takes me six hours, then oh well!

 

This is purely to say I did it. In October, if all goes well, my bucket list will look like: run a full marathon :)

What is on your bucket list that scares you? Do you have any marathon tips for me?

10 comments:

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Yay! So excited for you :) If anyone can do this, it's definitely you! I can't wait to follow you virtually on that day :)

(but really, a full marathon is NEVER in my future ha ha- I say never)

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Yea! I am so excited for you! And I am glad that you did not decided to take this on last year on top of everything else! Hopefully this school year will be more manageable and less overwhelming so you can find the time to fit in your training runs. You have a lot of will power and have been so committed to working out, I know you can do it! Plus you have plenty of races under your belt! I had only run a 5k and half marathon when I signed up for my first full so you've got plenty of experience to fall back on!

My biggest tip is to listen to your body and make sure you get your long runs in. And I always recommend running with a group but it sounds like you'll be doing that. I look forward to seeing you cross this off your bucket list!

I actually can't really think of anything on my bucket list! I have had goals like pass the CFA, pay off debt, etc but no really 'big' goals as weird as that sounds!

Julie said...

Yay for you! I love following your training on FB and whatnot. I would love to do a race someday but I'm not a runner, that's what scares me!

Heather said...

This is so exciting! I cant wait to see how your training goes!! I was supposed to train for run this year, but I ran into a hiccup.

Carolina John said...

Go for it girl! Very excited for you. But I have to warn you, once you go marathon you might not want to go back! My first marathon landed me in the ER with dehydration, and since then I've done 8 others, a few ultra's, and 2 ironmans. That first one is how you get hooked.

Amber said...

I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR YOU! I know you can do this and you will rock it! My advice is to book regular massages throughout your training, they saved me during 50km training last year! Can't wait to follow your training, I hope you will blog lots about it :)

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Good for you!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

That's awesome! As you know, I am very proud of you for taking this on. Once you do it, you will be able to look back and be so proud of what you have accomplished. It is such a great feeling. I know you can do it. Like you said, why not? You just need to believe in your training plan and the rest will follow.

My only tip would be to follow a training plan, as it really helps to have some long runs under your belt by the time your marathon day comes. The other tip would be to just have fun with it. It is not a job! And my last tip would be... you only get one first marathon. You will always remember it with fondness. I remember mine. It was such a great day!

Shoshanah said...

Such exciting news! It's crazy to think how far you've come since you PE class. And while I don't think I could ever manage running a marathon, knowing where you are now and where you started from makes me realize if I really wanted to, I could make it happen. Wishing you lots of luck and can't wait to hear more about your journey!

Also, since I'm pretty sure it's only a few days away at this point, hope you're enjoying your last few days before the wedding! And hope you have an incredibly amazing day!!!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

That's awesome! You can totally do it!