My First Marathon. Sorta.

Last night, I came up with a genius idea (if I do say so myself)! I had been ruminating over the inability to reach my goal of finishing a marathon before my 30th (don't wait until the last minute, because you never know when you're going to have a brain tumor), and that's when it occurred to me that I don't have to run the race (even though I do love the t-shirts). All I need to do is complete an official marathon route!

So tomorrow morning, Danny and I are going to wake up at 3:30am, drink several cups of coffee and head downtown to start the course of the Wenatchee marathon. We figure it will take about six or seven hours to complete the entire route since we're walking, but it will be worth it! I'm packing a couple of PB&J sandwiches and thankfully Danny has a couple of CamelPaks so we won't die of thirst. Already, our friend Jessaca said she'd love to swing by with her little baby girl and meet up and join us for a leg of the walk. This is going to be fantastic!

I know that it's not exactly the goal that I initially set, which was finishing a marathon without walking, but sometimes life changes and you have to roll with the punches. I'm so excited that I found another way to satisfy my goal, this way I won't feel like a failure! In fact, I already feel empowered. Sometimes, when you bump into a wall you just have to find your way around it. It'll just take a lot longer, if you're walking.

My First Post-Surgery Race

The other day I went to my first book club. The group has already had a few meetings, but I was diagnosed just as they were getting started and I've been unable to attend. Luckily, my friend Jessaca was hosting this month which made me really comfortable, and since I had already read the book, Moloka'i it was a no-brainer to attend.

I'm glad I've seemingly gotten over being shy about my hair/speech, because life is a lot more fun when I just get out and enjoy myself. I met a bevy of girls, all active, clever and funny. One of the women is associated with the website runwenatchee.com, and she mentioned a new race, the first annual River Run. Instantly I knew I was fated to meet her, and hear about the run. There's several different running options and I'm going to do the 10k. To get started with my training, I printed up Hal Hilgdon's 10k intermediate training schedule. The race is on September 18, and anyone in the area that loves to run should join me. I'm thrilled! I had been wanting to do a race before my next MRI which is on October 12th. Now I can do the 10k in Wenatchee on September 18th and then the marathon relay in Leavenworth October 2nd. It's perfect timing, and they're both in my neighborhood. Genius!

I'm glad that I'll have some fun dates ahead, and a new training schedule. I always do better with a guideline. I've already been able to cross off a few days of running on my schedule and it feels really good to be able to monitor my growth. If I just take things day by day I won't feel so overwhelmed, it's just like training for this next run. Before I know it I'll have accomplished a lot more than I've realized.

I do have to say that the one goal that I wanted to accomplish was completing a marathon by the time that I turned 30. Unfortunately, it isn't going to happen since my 30th birthday is on Friday. I'm not going to lie, I'm disappointed in myself. You never know what's going to happen (like a brain tumor), so please set your goals and do your best to achieve them. Don't put them off. I promise you will regret it.