back in the swing

Remember this? It's been almost 2 years since my sister and I ran our marathon and we made a pact to never put ourselves through that kind of pain again. When it came time to lose some Madeline-weight I opted for a half marathon and found it much more to my liking (though I still found a way to not be in the best shape). I'm beyond the point when the word "marathon" makes me cringe a little, but I'm definitely not excited by the idea of trying another one.

My sister, on the other hand, has decided that the time is right. She's wanting to get into shape again and needing the extra incentive that a marathon provides (you really can't attempt one without having done SOME training... and you'll probably end up in pain if you haven't done MONTHS of training). At first I just laughed at her, but then I realized that she was serious. I still didn't like it, but I approached the topic with my boy. He laughed until he realized that I was serious, then he said "no" and walked away. It's fair to say that we've had an extremely busy year, and training for my last marathon took a lot of dedication from both of us. I understood his hesitation (ok, refusal) especially since I've had trouble fitting in any kind of workout lately, let alone at least 45-60 minutes of running 5 days a week. Still, I couldn't let it go. I remember the first conversation I had with my sister, when all I needed was a little support and she wholeheartedly agreed without reservation. The boy and I talked about it some more, and I pulled out the big guns -- she said yes when I needed her, and now she needs me to say yes too. (That probably wasn't a very fair argument to use, but it's the one I've been giving to myself since I still don't really want to run another one.) We came to an agreement of sorts: I get to train for these next few months and see how it goes, especially since the longer runs won't come until March. At that point, I'll be done with my thesis, almost done with classes, and hopefully pulling together the last 8ish weeks of my internship... so maybe things will be easier?

It looks like we're aiming for the weekend of June 5th, when our options are San Diego, CA or Newport, OR. That give us 5 months to train, though the program we use only needs 20 weeks. Can you tell I'm still trying to talk myself into some sort of acceptance?

I started running again this weekend and have managed to workout 3 out of the last 4 days. I'm starting pretty slow so that it seems manageable (and my darling boy doesn't kill the idea within the first week), but I'm also trying to change my attitude this time around. Running for me has always been a "have to" -- I was in cross country, I needed to lose weight, I needed to get into shape, it's so easy, etc. When I went out on Friday afternoon I realized how lucky I am that I CAN run. My body easily slips into form, I can keep a pretty good pace, and within days of starting again my aches pretty much dissolve. It's like I was made to be a runner, even though I like to say that I'm not very good at it.

I remember being in high school and running 330 meter hurdles -- I can still close my eyes and feel that rush of adrenaline as I sprint around the track, the bunching of my muscles as I go over the hurdle, the lengthening of my stride as I land and pick up my pace. I can also remember the feeling of tackling a big hill in cross country, speeding up and changing my rhythm to use the leg muscles that have been shaped through months of training. I always hated racing, which is basically the purpose of cross country, so I look back and say that I didn't enjoy the sport... but really, I enjoyed the feeling of running.

I'm trying to change my attitude and my focus this time around. I don't want to waste another 5 months and hundreds of miles, just to get through the marathon and say "ugh, that was horrible." I want to enjoy my time on the road, embrace the ways that my body is changing, and mentally prepare myself to feel good at the end of it all. I'm also trying to use my running time as "me" time -- to break my habit of multiplication tables and use the time to refocus my day. I'll let you know how it goes ;-)

Here's a present for making it through my long rambling post --

there are at least 3 things wrong with this picture. bonus points if you can find them!
(and yes, Benjamin still asks to wear his halloween costume almost daily. that's not one of them.)

This is also the part where I ask for company. When we ran our last marathon my sister convinced two of her friends to join us -- they trained together in San Jose, she trained in Redlands, and I trained in Portland. We ran together when we were in the same state, otherwise we just stayed accountable and raced together on marathon day. If you've been itching to run a marathon, or even a half-marathon, and you want a little company (or maybe just that extra kick in the pants) then I'm talking to YOU. We're starting a new decade, what better time to cross this off the "someday" list?