After running my first half marathon in October I wasn't sure that I would ever do something like that again. It was tough for me. But then I ran the Hot Chocolate 5k with my daughter, Courtney, and had the time of my life! I walked most of it since this was her first race of any type and she had not really prepared. It was an accomplishment for her just to finish the distance. Walking with her under the beautiful Chicago skyline I realized I wanted to just take off and run. But she wasn't up for more than a jog, so I held back. It was then that I realized I missed running. Of course I stayed with her and loved sharing each moment with her - this was not a race for a PR. It was much more important than that.
Afterwards, I had no upcoming race. I had no goal other than finishing my semester at school with the aspiration of maybe, someday, getting to sleep eight hours in a row. I didn't run. I didn't exercise. I ate dinner out of a paper bag. And I fueled myself with a delightful combination of coffee and M&Ms. So, in three months, I managed to pack on weight like a Sumo wrestler trying to make his weight class. I did finish my classes with my GPA intact though :) So all is not lost.
Now that I've had a few weeks to catch my breath, I'm giving into this nagging voice inside my head wanting me to update this blog. I've been a little perplexed as to what sort of goal to set for myself this year. I know I want to return to the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. I want to be better prepared so that I can enjoy the experience more. I want to have time to stop for pictures rather than using up the only precious minutes I have at the bathrooms. But - I also wanted something more than that. Running my first half marathon was a BIG deal and I didn't want my goal for this year to just be a do-over.
Thankfully, Lesley and Sherry over at http://runfortheblingofit.blogspot.com/ came up with a challenge for me! So I will be running 12 races this year and writing race reports about each. In addition.....
wait for it.....
I'm attempting my first FULL marathon in November. Ambitious? Perhaps. But some people didn't think I could do 13.1 last year either.
Of course I'll need to actually start exercising again and back away from the M&Ms....
