My friend Amy who I have been working out with consistently, told me that she was also running a marathon in Charleston this December. This would be Amy's fifth marathon and she encouraged me to run with her. I looked at her like she was crazy and told her that although i really wished i wanted to, but i have ZERO desire to run 26 miles. She then mentioned that there was also a half marathon too, and I should consider it.
Later that week, i was on the phone with my mother and told her about Lesli and Amy's journey. Very calmly and plainly she says to me.
"Christina, I ran a half marathon. Actually I ran 15 miles. I was working full time, I had 3 children, I was 36 years old, and I ran 15 miles."
Now, I would like to add that my mother is a retired Colonel in the Army. She stayed very physically fit her whole life... but STILL! She was 10 years older than me.
Thems fightin words my friends. I had no problem whatsoever with Lesli and Amy being able to run and admitting that I couldn't. Lesli can do LOTS of things that i can't and i am perfectly okay with admitting it. But my mother knows that the best way to get me motivated to do something is to say that she did it...so of course i could too. (although i am pretty sure that i don't have it in me to deliver 3 babies naturally) She dangled the bait and i fell for it. So, its official....and i am writing this on the blog so i will hold myself accountable....barring any unfortunate injuries or circumstances...
I AM RUNNING A HALF MARATHON IN DECEMBER.
I really want to just do this because i want to really physically push myself. I haven't pushed myself to be really physically fit since college. Yes, I can do hours of kickboxing, dance, yoga and elliptical, but training for a marathon I feel is going to REALLY whip my body into shape. More than that, it is the mental aspect that is intriguing to me as well. Since I started telling people about running this marathon, all i have heard is that it is all mental. It is your mind telling your body that it can keep going, even when your body thinks it can't. If I can do that, really do that...how much could that change my perspective on anything in life that i think i can't do?
So, Kiawah Island here I come. I have also convinced my friend Kori to run the half marathon with me, and I am super excited about that. I have a whole crew of people who are going to come down to cheer me on, and I think we might rent one of those super cute beach houses for the weekend too.
I started training last week and my first few runs have gone really well. Amy wrote me out a 25 week training schedule. I have PLENTY of time to get ready for this, so that has really put me at ease. Lesli and I have started chatting on the phone to one another during our runs to help the time go by faster. She can carry on an entire conversation on a 5 mile run. I'm not quite at that point yet...all my responses are "nope","yup"and breathless grunts.
See ya'll at the finish line!!
