1/2marty eve

[tunes: #42, "it's only life" by kate voegele]

i've discovered i tend to set achievable goals. yes, ones that will stretch me ... but rarely anything i think is truly impossible.

on sunday, august 8, 2010, i wrote the following in my journal:

"The epic craziness begins tomorrow ... Meghan and I start training for a 1/2 marathon. Yes, a 1/2 marathon. I must be crazy."

side note: sometimes i have a tendency to start things and not finish them. it takes a serious passion for me to invest in something long-term. even as i wrote that journal entry, part of my brain said: "yeah right. impossible."

but i started running.

and i hated it. absolutely hated it. i thought of all the people that said, "all you have to do is train, and any one can be a distance runner." i called them liars and continued to hate running.

but i kept running.

and at some point, my lungs adapted. and i could breathe easier. and the thought of 3 miles didn't make me want to die.

so i kept running.

and then there were those pesky issues with my knees and ankles. and i found myself either heating/icing/stretching some part of my body on a daily basis.

but i kept running.

i got into and out of a relationship during all of this. my heart hurt. more than my knees and ankles. on many nights, i just wanted to curl up on my bed and distract myself with boy meets world and some fro yo.

but i kept running.

when it was hot. when it was cold. when it was rainy. when it was windy. when my body felt great. when my body hurt. when i had good days. when i had hard days and my head was a mess.

i kept running.

and here we are. nearly 6 months later. and at 8 a.m. tomorrow, it's go time -- 13.1 miles. i expect it to take a lot out of me. i expect to feel good on some miles. i expect to hate life on other miles. i expect it to be hard.

but guess what? i can do hard things.

so i'll keep running.

because it's about time i did something impossible.

(this is not me. nor will i be wearing that exact outfit. nor am i sponsored by toyota. but you get the idea.)