Why?

I've decided to run a 1/2 marathon on October 24, 2009. Go ahead and laugh--it IS funny, I admit. Why would I want to do this? I'm not really sure, other than I just want to. I'm certainly not an athlete, nor have I ever been. In fact, would not even call myself an athletic supporter! (Joke from Grease 2 for my fellow drama geeks out there!) I have never played sports, and I am not blessed with much coordination. I am the girl who used to fake asthma in grade school to avoid having to run the mile in P.E.

In 2008 I ran a 10k with a coworker of mine and thought it was enjoyable. I liked how it felt to do something physical that I had never done before. After that I got married, went to law school, and then had baby after baby after baby. My life for the last few years has involved zero exercise of any regularity. And, to top that off, my life has been pretty stress filled and I have found myself feeling like I had no way to release my frustrations.

I have often thought of how good it felt back in 2008 when I ran that 10k, and just this spring I started jogging a few mornings a week. I really enjoy it. I get up at 5:00 am, when the sun is just barely waking up itself, and I head out the door with my Ipod shuffle. I listen to music and run. I have discovered I really love it. The morning is new, the air is chilly, and I am all alone. Of course, I run on the street so I'm not at risk of being eaten by a mountain lion or kidnapped by a serial killer. But I feel alone--and I like it.

I did a 10k this summer in Utah and it felt great. I have kept up my jogging in the mornings and have decided to do a 1/2 marathon. I'm going to run it with my dear friend, Jen. The race is in Phx and it is on my 34th birthday. It will be my present to myself.

I still do not know why I'm going to do it. I think I want to do it to try and push my body to do something it has not done before. I have never really pushed my body. Admittedly I have had 3 children, but that is not what I mean. I mean pushed my body in an exercise mode, not a baby delivery mode. I want to sweat, pant, and run through aches and pains. I want to feel tired and want to quit, but keep going, one step at a time, until I finish. I want to set a goal and accomplish it, despite any difficulties I might face. I want to, on my 34th birthday, be in physical shape that I have not been in before. And I just want to do it for no other reason that to do it because I want to. Isn't that enough?

I am creating this blog mostly for myself--to journal my experience and make it more real for me. If anyone else out there in the cyberworld finds it amusing, interesting, or enlightening, that's just a benefit to my blabbing. So here goes...!