In transition

What’s the difference between a regular person who exercises and an athlete? Well, regular people are like me, and athletes are… I don’t know. Better than me? Definitely skinnier than me.

I can’t be sure, but it seems like athletes exercise because they like it or something, but us regular folks do it because we have to, or at least for me, I run because as much as getting up early to run sucks, I’m sure it beats living with diabetes and/or having a heart attack.

I do have things in common with athletes though. For example, I’m rapidly accumulating a collection of running gear. Ya know, everything from hats to socks for all temperatures, in “wicking” fabric, ‘cause duh, Cotton is Rotten. I’ve also got a fancy multi-buttoned watch that I barely know how to use, iPod arm band, muscle-massaging stick …inhaler. I have to say, I look the part. I’ve lost a few pounds, too. I’ve even subscribed to Runners World… who am I?!

I think I am in a period of transition, and today was a milestone. I had my first “tempo” run. Tempo is a fun word for hard. The idea is to push yourself (a figurative term that athletes use) to run about a minute or so faster each mile than you do normally.

I did it, which would make me a regular person who exercises, BUT, the craziest thing happened today! I enjoyed it! Honest to goodness, it felt awesome, albeit in a very masochist way. I felt this dull discomfort kind of in between my lungs, but I thought about it, and I was like, “well, I’m not out of breath; I’m breathing just fine. My legs don’t hurt…” and I told myself that walking wouldn’t make me feel better, so I just kept running, and when I finished, I felt like I won! I felt… like an athlete?!

I’m learning that athleticism is not a matter of have or have-not, rather it’s a spectrum, let’s say, between heart-attack-waiting-to-happen and Olympian. After today, I am 3.5 rockin’ miles further away from where I don’t want to be!

26.2 for Africa

Now that I'm officially registered for the marathon, I can get moving with fundraising for Team World Vision!

I have my own fancy website and everything.

Not to mention this running shirt that makes me look SO hardcore:




Running this marathon is changing my life in a very literal physical sense. By running with Team World Vision, I can help add years and quality to lives other than my own in the same way by providing food and clean water to impoverished families in Africa.

If you are moved by either the heart disease epidemic or the extreme poverty in Africa, please consider making a tax-deductible donation via the link above.

$135 later...

Registration Confirmation for:

Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Dear Virginia,

Congratulations! You are now registered for Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.chicagomarathon.com

View your complete registration details »
Congratulations! You are entered to run in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 10, 2010.

BIG NEWS

... or actually, LONG NEWS! 26.2-miles-long news!

You guessed it. I've put aside my better judgement and decided to just jump in the deep end and run the whole stinkin' thing!

But what about the whole never running more than like, 7 or 8 miles thing? Yeah, I know. Like I said, I've purposefully set aside my better judgement on this one and decided not to really pay attention to that little detail. Kinda like moving to China and not knowing a single word of the language. Details have never been my thing.

I was going to wait until after the half marathon in May to finalize and announce my decision, but... well, who am I kidding? I hate waiting. I'm the girl who married the love of her life after less than year of meeting the guy! AND it was the best decision I've ever made! I'm hoping running a marathon at least makes the top 100 list. Really hoping.

Speaking of Mr. Wonderful, here's an excerpt (I edited the mushy parts) I wrote to him in an e-mail earlier today, which should help summarize my thoughts:
I honestly can't stop thinking about the Chicago marathon and how much I really want to run it. I probably knew this already, but was afraid to come out and say it... but, I definitley intend to run the 2010 Chicago Marathon! I want to do it, I think I can do it, and I get so excited (even a little teary-eyed sometimes) just thinking about it!

So, I've read the entire Chicago Marathon website and the entire Team World Vision webiste, and I've taken the first step, which is just to register for Team World Vision. The next step is to register for the actual marathon!



AHHH!

Day One

I just had a GREAT first run of official training! It was 3 miles, and I still cannot believe that it was not very long ago that 3 miles was my goal. period. Now it's a starting point! When I say this, I say it will ALL humility, but... go me!


I'll whine about the treadmills later.

Countdown: 12 weeks

My half marathon is exactly 12 weeks from tomorrow, and you know what that means?! "OFFICIAL" training begins Monday! (And Mondays are just stretching days. My favorite!)

I have to admit I'm pretty intimidated. I mean, what if I just canNOT physically move my body forward in any semblance of a running/bouncy marching motion for 8 miles on week nine? And then have to run 9 miles the next week?! Or what if I get sore/ kinda injured and probably shouldn't run for several days... where does that leave me with training? I have a DEADLINE, people!! May 16th = 13.1 miles or... shame!
I am not running savvy enough to have figured these things out, and there are waaaay too many people online who think they do, so getting a straight answer from Google is a mess. I'm still trying to figure out the best method to carry water on a long run!


On the other hand, there's nothing like a deadline to light a fire under a lazy runner's iliotibial band!
















Not surprisingly given my conspicuous absence from blogging, I've been pretty lax about running the past few weeks. I've put in a couple miles here and there during the week, no Saturdays, and I've been eating candy again like a crazy person. I'm hopeful that between the structure of training and the slowly improving weather in Chicago, I'll be back on track.

Committed

Engagement Announcement... kind of:
Let it be known that I have officially registered and committed to running in my very first half marathon! OMG!

On May 16th, just 2 weeks after my 25th birthday, God-willing, I will be running 13.1 miles... on the same day,in a row! I was expecting to have to travel since silly me thought there was only one half marathon in Chicago every year,in September, and my goal was to do one the spring. I guess I'll have to find a different excuse to go to Nashville...