P.S. Congrats to all the WDW 20th anniversary marathon runners this past weekend! Such an amazing accomplishment!
Before anyone gets the wrong idea in their head, let me clarify one very important thing: I am not a "runner". I didn't run track or play sports in high school or college, and I have never run in a race. When Briana started this whole thing, I could count the number of miles I had ever run on my fingers. Training for this half marathon is going to be a huge learning process for me!
About a week after Briana started this blog, I decided that I wanted to join her for the half marathon. The reasons are complicated, but can be distilled down into two main themes.
1) I've always believed that I can do anything I set my mind to, but I had never really thought of running as a worthy goal before. I do, however, think that having fun and pushing myself physically are worthy goals, so I am seeing some mud runs, costumed races, and yes, even a tutu in my future.
2) I think it is awesome for Briana to publicly take on such a big goal and be so open about the ups and downs along the way. She's a strong, determined, beautiful, and stubborn woman, and I know she'll get there with or without me. I also know how much it can help to have someone by your side, even figuratively if not always literally. I'm really looking forward to making some awesome memories along the path to Disney World and crossing that half marathon finish line together!
I had to make sure I could fit exercising into my schedule and run without killing myself before I told Briana of my plans to run the half marathon with her. In September, I got myself a pair of running shoes and started the couch-to-5k program. There were parts of it that were really hard, and I had to backtrack a couple weeks when I got sick or was out of town, but I finally finished with a triumphant 5k run around my neighborhood a week before Christmas. (Of course I took the next 3 weeks off of running and will have to work back up to where I left off, but oh well!).
Since Briana started this blog, I've run/jog/walked more than 70 miles! I've been really surprised how much I've come to enjoy running. That doesn't mean that it's always easy to convince myself to get moving, but I usually end up feeling good about what I've accomplished.
There's a lot of uncertainty in my life right now, as I'm nearing the end of graduate school and will soon be dumped into the Real World (eek!). I think that training for this half marathon is going to be really good for me. It will be something constant, something I'll hopefully continue to enjoy, and something to help keep the "dissertation weight" at bay! Running means I get to eat more cookies, right? Right? :-D
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