First goal: Run a marathon

It’s been on my list since I ran cross country in high school, but has never happened. I actually signed up for one some years ago, but we moved or something, and I didn’t end up training for it. That seems to have been the pattern- I’m injured (horrible shin splints), working too much to train, studying too hard to train, pregnant, nursing, recovering from a miscarriage, living at sea level (the marathon I’m running is in the mountains), or a combination of the previous reasons. This year I seem to be doing ok: no shin splints, I’m not working or in school, I’m not pregnant or nursing or recovering from a miscarriage, and I’ve moved back to a higher elevation. This is the time!

Last September I ran the Disneyland Half Marathon with my friend R. We trained with Team in Training and raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (go to http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/ to learn more and donate). It was very hot the day of the race, but we had a blast. I decided that the half is a good distance, but I still had to run a full marathon at least once so I could cross it off my list. I haven’t run much since because we moved just as I was coming off my (long) recovery period. We went from warm, sunny weather to freezing, snowy weather. I was used to walking 6 miles a day, 3 times a week, but that habit died quickly when faced with frigid weather. It’s finally warmed up and I’m exercising again, and it feels great!

One of my training partners and I