In my "Diet Coke Detox" post, I mentioned giving up my phenyalanine addiction for a "good cause". Well, the wait is over... (drumroll please).............
I'M TRAINING FOR A FULL MARATHON!
It's a long story how I came to the conclusion that training for a marathon was something I needed to do, but most of it has to do with my desire to discipline myself to do something I'm not good at. I HATE running. Let me say that again, just in case you missed it...I HATE TO RUN! It's not part of my genetic makeup & I often find myself muttering "Now, why did I sign up for this?". It's been 5 long years since these rusty "getting close to thirty-been bearing children for the last 5 years-hate to exercise" bones got moving! I guess you could say I've had it! I'm tired of hanging on to my 15 extra "baby" pounds, and I'm "sick and tired" of being out of shape, and out of breath!! However, I know in my heart the real reasons why I'm training for this marathon, and I believe I can do it! It's not all about getting back into shape either.
I do have a seemingly high mountain of obstacles to overcome in order to pull this off, but I'm a determined thing! For instance...I DON'T have a gym membership! This is something that I'm pretty sure I'm going to HAVE to have sometime soon so that I can pull this thing off. As the winter months approach I'm trusting that God will make a way for me to get a reasonably priced membership somewhere close. I don't even have "home gym" equipment, so "no" I can't run on a treadmill at home....because I don't HAVE a treadmill (silly). This too is something that I believe God can change. I'm learning the fine art of at-home yoga and pilates, and so far the video tapes I already own are taking me where I need to go for the time being.
I've only been "training" for 3 weeks & I've already completed a 6 mile and 8 mile training run with my team. I'm NOT at all fast, but I'm doing it! That's all I really want out of this whole thing. I just want to know that "I CAN do it". I will run 10 miles this Saturday & I'm confident that I'll be able to finish that run as well. I'm just taking things one day at a time right now. If I think about the whole 26.2 miles it seems impossible, but each time I run with my training team I feel myself "doing it" and I just tell myself to keep it up.
SOOOO, if your wondering WHO I'm training with, and why, you can check out my personal fundraising page right HERE. Yep, I said "fundraising" page. I'm really excited to have an opportunity to raise money to support such an awesome cause! Many of you know that I should have another "big sister", but I never had the privilege of getting to meet my oldest sister Andrea, because she died of leukemia before I was even born. The loss of Andrea was something that I always knew about, but because she died before I was born I don't think I put that connection together until I had my own children. I simply cannot imagine losing one of my children, and it breaks my heart even more to know that my own mother has had to feel that kind of heartache. My decision to train for and run a marathon through TNT is more than just a desire to "get fit", it's also a desire to see families given hope when they have a loved one dealing with this cancer. I feel like I am finally getting to do something for the sister I never got to meet. I may have been robbed of the opportunity to meet my sister, but I hope that in some small way by doing this marathon, I'm helping some other "sister" out there get the opportunity to meet her WHOLE family.
Thanks for taking the time to read my unusually long post! I'll be posting "training stories" and pictures in the near future, so keep an eye out for those. I promise to keep them entertaining-LOL!
