Road to a marathon

March 30th, 2010 (the day after my 30th birthday) I started running with a friend. I had run several 5K's pre-Kincaid, but lost motivation after he was born. I needed a push and partner to get me going again. Thanks to Jentri, I had that. The intention was to train for a 5K. As time went on, the 5K training turned into 10K training, then into half marathon training. I didn't complete the half marathon that year. But, I did finish 14 races and felt great about all of them. It was a sense of personal accomplishment.

Fast forward to 2011 and I had farther goals. I wanted to complete the half marathon I didn't the year before. May 1st, 2011 I finished my first half marathon and quite a bit faster than my expected time. I was hooked. I completed four half marathons that year, along with several 5K's, 8K's, 10K's, BIX 7, and a 20K. 22 races total. My favorites were the trail runs, mud runs, and Warrior Dash.

So what's my goal for 2012? Why a full marathon, of course. I committed (meaning I registered) a few days ago. It's official, I will be running a marathon on May 27th, 2012. As is par for me, once it's in my head, I have to conquer it. I have 17 weeks to be able to push my body to 26.2 miles.

Keeping my mileage up from last race season gives me a jump start. I've done a few double digit runs in the last month. Now it's a matter of working one long run per week into my schedule. With an incredible supportive husband, that won't be hard.

Just in case this is the only marathon I ever run, I thought I'd blog about my journey.