What am I doing here?

Take Advil. Be selfish. Skip the “junk miles”. The advice keeps coming, and I’m soaking it up like a sponge. I’m lucky to have a great group of supporters who have run dozens of marathons between them, and who are happy to share what worked for them, what didn’t, and their golden kernel of “if you do just one thing” knowledge.

My official marathon training begins this Sunday, June 28^th. My goal is to run the City of Manchester NH Marathon, which will be my first full marathon, on November 1, a mere 18 weeks away. Not just run it, but run it in under 4:00:59, which is the Boston Marathon qualifying time for women in my age group.

So yeah, I’m 47 years old and just now getting around to the marathon. I’ve run several half’s over the years, and was frequently asked when I was going to do the full. I always replied that I was happy to stick with 13.1 miles, thank you so much, the marathon is just not for me, here’s why: my knees, my lungs, my life, my whatever…

So what changed? I’m not sure. I still have the same knees and lungs, and pretty much the same life. I’m so inspired by those who have completed 26.2 miles all at once, whether on foot, on wheels, or on prosthetics, and want to join their ranks as marathoners.

I want to push myself past any physical and mental limits that I have encountered to this point in my life (excluding child-birth, but like they say, you forget that pain). I want to prove to myself that I can do it, to feel that wave of emotion, of pride and awe of what one’s mind and body can accomplish if only given the chance.

So enough writing for now. Thanks for tuning in, and thanks to the wonderful folks at the City of Manchester Marathon for giving me the chance to share the journey with you.

Next time: “Love your shoes!”