Week 1 of the Journey

Howdy!  This is my first attempt ever at a blog, but I want to try to document my journey to completing the 2011 Disney marathon.  Now, the first question that probably popped into your mind would be, "Why in the world would you do this?" And there's an interesting story behind it, which I shared in my Facebook page recently:

Whenever someone asked me if I ran, the response was swiftly followed by, "Yeah, sure, if there's something big, mean, and nasty chasing after me..." But, if you've been reading my wall lately, you know I've changed my mind.

I've been kicking around the idea of running a marathon since Andy Bock & I saw it back in 2002 when we happened to be "playing in the parks" on a whim. It was a rainy, nasty day, and all of these people were running among throngs of guests. But the best part was that all of those tourists took time out of their day to cheer on all of these people that didn't know them from Adam. Despite the disgusting weather, something inside of me went, "That would be so cool to do!" However, since I had an opinion of running, the little voice was quickly told to shut up. Every now and then the voice would pipe up, nostalgic memories of that rainy January day washing over me, only to be told to "stuff it" once again.

My hubby actually was a runner when James was a baby, and I thought he was nuts for spending more on a pair of shoes that I think I had ever spent on a single outfit in my life. But he always seemed happier when he came back, even if he was a sweaty mess... (love you, Honey) :)

So, seven years of marriage and two kids later, I'm getting into a "health kick" courtesy of the bathroom scale, a severe desire to lose the last pounds of baby-weight from Nathan, and our Wii Fit board. I've been working out 3-5 times a week for most of the summer (yeah, I took our week of vacation off because I'm a dope and left the Fit disc home), and even gone as far as to put the boys in various vehicles so I could jog around the neighborhood. And then came "the" wall post...

One of my roommates from FCC, Windy Cobourne, received a "kingdom card" at CIY that she bravely opened. It instructed her to run a marathon. As soon as I read it, I immediately thought of that cold, wet January eight years ago, and decided that this was it. It's not so much a big, booming voice from above commanding me, "Thou shalt run a marathon!" It's more of the voice of a best friend, who knows you inside and out, pulling you aside and saying gently, "You have dreamed about this for almost a decade. What a great opportunity to share an experience like this with a friend, even if she's 1,000 miles away. What are you waiting for? Go for it!"

So, I have bought my shoes, hijacked my hubby's MP3 player, and just finished loading it up with music for my running. I'm going to need to take my time and train carefully so I don't kill myself in the process. But, for the first time in a long time, I feel energized and excited about trying to tackle this goal. Any prayers, suggestions, and words of encouragement will always be welcome!

And that's pretty much it.  I'm still finalizing my "mission" for the run, and as soon as I get one more green light, I'll share it.