So on Sunday I made a decision that I would have never in a million years thought about doing prior to a few weeks ago: I registered for a half marathon which will take place on 10/7/12 in ATL. The road to this decision probably began when my buddy Tara ran her first half last March, and then when my Stoufflet friends ran the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in New Orleans last March as well. But I never imagined I would actually WANT to run that far... 5K was enough, right? And so I began running again after Christmas, seriously, to get ready for the Cupid's Chase 5K in February with Taylor. Hills and all, it seemed to be hard. But the next day was Sunday, and I found myself running AGAIN, for another 3+ miles. My awesome Endomondo app on my Droid uploads my runs to Facebook, cuz where would I be without encouragement from my friends?!? A friend of mine, Stephen, asked if I was training for the Peachtree Road Race, a thought I hadn't really contemplated since the damn thing is in JULY in the dead heat of summer, and I know I am not a summer runner. So, what the heck, my buddy Callie said she wanted to do the Peachtree, so I asked Tay if she would, and now we have 10 people awaiting this Thursday to be able to register and hopefully get in together as a group for the 7/4/12 run 10K run.
Alright, so now my goal is 6.2- another distance I thought would surely take me awhile to reach. Well, one Sunday while running early in the morning, with no worries about kids or house since Todd was home to hold down the fort, I just kept running. My goal was 4 miles that day, but then a really good song popped up on my random mix ("Walk" by Pantera I believe.. thanks Miss Pam and Keith for the suggestion!) and so I kept on.. and then "Perfect Insanity" by Disturbed played right around mile 5 (thanks Brian) and so I kept on, and then I said "I wonder if could make it to 6 miles" and so many steps later and some really good tunes, I made it to 6 miles and some change~! So awesome to know that I can run a 10K.. although "Cardiac Hill" and the heat and humidity of the Peachtree (if we get in) will prove to test that.
So fast forward to this Sunday, time change and all, I hit the pavement at 6:30 AM... cool clear day, quiet... my mantra kicked in throughout the run.. "Carpe Diem" I kept saying to myself. A possibly overused and cheesy selection for a running mantra, but it popped into my head one day while running- influenced by a recent viewing of The Dead Poet's Society no doubt. These moment of quietness and alone time do not come frequently.. seize them and milk them for all they are worth... So, without the aid of my mile tracking on Endomondo (something was up with the audio coaching) I only knew when I had reached the set goal of 4 miles (which I knew I would keep going). I was no where near home when I hit the goal, which is great and easy to keep going. Which I did.. and I hit 7 miles! And through those last 3, with the pictures of victorious friends from the NOLA Rock n Roll 1/2 still in my head from the week before, I told myself that I need to find a half marathon to run sooner than Feb 2013.
So home I went, to a glass of chocolate milk and an "ice" bath (my butt has not been that cold in a long time! I think since I swam in the Pacific Summer of 99), I searched for a 1/2 and found one on 10/7/12.. my Lola's 10th birthday. I would love for her to be on the sidelines cheering me on when I cross it that day.. race time is 7 AM so we will see, plus it's her birthday and whatever she wants to do...
SO, Carpe Diem indeed... I am signed up and there is no turning back! So begins my journey to chase my first Half Marathon medal
3.1 miles this morning
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