How My Journey Started

I should start by saying that God did not give me a runner's body or endurance.  I have always been athletic, but NEVER involved in running...until 4 years ago when my daughter was born.  Of course it started out as a way to "get my body back".  lol  Little did I know that no-matter how far I ran, I'd never have my old body back. 
Running my first EVER race, almost 1 year (2008) after taking my first step on the treamill, was the first step into my addiction.  It was a 5k Turkey Trot that took me 56 minutes to finish...and I thought I was running fast.  However, I was so proud of that finish that I went home put on my heels and cooked a Thanksgiving meal.  Needless to say, I haven't looked back!











Fast forward to 2010, I was asked by my fabulous friend, Donna, to join her in running the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon.  Donna and I have a great relationship, even though we are modern day pen-pals and hadn't actually met face-to-face, but I thought she was C-R-A-Z-Y!  My longest run was 3.1!!!  However, I agreed, mostly to have a chance to meet her for the first time.  So the training began in July of 2010. 
I was running as much as possible and as long as possible in hopes of just crossing the finish line.  In October, I bought a new pair of running shoes, which were not the correct shoes for my gait, and I ended up with Planters Fasciitis.  OUCH!!!  Because I had already paid ALL of the money, including hotel room, I had to keep running, so I returned my shoes and got another pair.  Such a newbie to running I had NO idea what a gait even was.  ;)
So February came around and I HAD to run 13.1 miles...all at once!  I was so terrified to run that distance that I couldn't sleep and deveolped the worst heartburn of my life!  With  only 1.5 hours of sleep, I got up at 3 AM, put on my tiara and tutu, laced up my Asics, and jumped on the bus. 
The ENTIRE race was truly magical!  I loved every step, and cried like a baby when I crossed the finish line.  (The poor old guy giving me my medal must have thought I was nuts.)

Being on top of the world with my 2:44 finish, I registered for the Iron Girl 1/2 Marthon in April with a few local friends.  Boy was that a totally different race!  It honestly made the Disney race feel like a real "Mickey Mouse" race.  Three causeways, the hottest day of the year, and a blister at mile 5, made me re-think why I run.  I wanted to throw in the towel!  It was the hardest thing I've EVER done, and I gave birth.  lol But when I finished it, I felt like a rockstar!  BUT I had decided that I was finished with distance races.

 
All of my runner friends, will know that once a runner, always a runner, and with time eveything is better.  So my husband, who is also a runner, decided to run the Rock-n-Roll 1/2 Marathon, and I told him I would run it with him.  This brings us to summer of 2011.
This is when I decided to add running a full marathon on my "to do before I turn 40 list."  Am I crazy?  I just might be, but I started my training today and this is my journey into 26.2!!! I hope you will join me and enjoy it all along the way.