Half Marathon Training - Week 1

Training to run a 13.1 mile race at high elevation began in my mind. It had to, my body wasn't ready to get up and move. I love to relax on the couch once the kids go to bed, sometimes it's the first time I get to sit down and not think all day long. So I read how to train for a half-marathon. I looked at a map of the course, I watched videos on Youtube about proper running techniques, you name it...I put off the actual training part for as long as I could.

Then at the beginning of this week I got an email with a training plan for this specific race. I could put it off no longer. Do I enjoy running? Not really. Why, then, would I put myself through the torture of running so far for no apparent reason? The answer is this: while I don't particularly enjoy the actual act of running, I love the feeling you get after you are done. I hate the gym, riding a bike isn't my thing, I'm not the best swimmer, so I needed an activity that fit my life.

Hiking will always be my exercise of choice, for one, I don't even consider it exercise. I enjoy every aspect of it, not just the feeling of accomplishment at the end. But hiking everyday isn't an option with my busy life. Running puts me in the outdoors, but can be accomplished on a treadmill if the weather is nasty or if it is dark out, so it is choice #2. One interesting thing I just thought of; I am a scaredy cat to run on the streets in the dark....and I probably should be, but while hiking alone, in the dark on the Wonderland Trail, I didn't feel fear.  People scare me much more than nature. ANYWAY....

I want to keep a log of my training and by doing so here I will be held accountable when my body would rather be glued to the couch. I will track my mileage, my time, my perceived exertion and whatever else runners tend to track. As you've probably guessed, I'm not much of an athlete, but I have the desire to be healthy. I want to set a good example of not only a healthy lifestyle for my children, but that if you set a goal, you see it through.

Today's run:

2 miles
25 minutes
wanted to stop after 10 mins

On a side note, iTunes Radio has a cruel sense of humor. Around 7 minutes into my run the music on my headphones cut out and a commercial for a Burger King Whopper came on describing in all it's juicy goodness why it's the best burger out there. Mmmmmm! Must. Keep. Running.....

"I Want You To Do This." -God

The older I get the more and more I realize that everything happens at the right moment for the right reasons. God's plan for our lives are better than our own, but sometimes, just sometimes, our plans coincide with God's plans and everything syncs the way you want them to. This is happening to me right now.

I have always desired to visit Yellowstone National Park, and for awhile I have wanted to run a Half Marathon race. 'Lack' has always prevented me from both; lack of money or lack of time or lack of energy. But I have erased 'Lack' from my life this year and exchanged it for 'Resolve'. I will resolve to save money for the trip, I will resolve to make the time, and I will resolve to do what it takes to train for the race.

The best thing 'Lack' ever did for me is prevent me from ever having made this trip without my children. I am so excited to be able to experience one of the world's Natural Wonders for the first with them as they also experience it for the first time.

How things are falling into place being orchestrated by the Creator of all good things:

• I was looking on Pinterest and saw something about a race in Yellowstone. I looked up the website, liked what I saw and impulsively registered right then and there. I figured I would work the details out in time.
• Then, since I hadn't been planning on running a race this year and have been rather couch potato-ish lacking in exercise, I looked up how to train for a half-marathon. Everywhere I looked said to give yourself 16 weeks of preparations. It is 17 weeks until the race.
• Tax season gave me a return that would fund the entire trip.
• Within days I had at least one of my sisters (hopefully more) and a brother-in-law on board to come with. Now I have someone to be with the kids while I am running.
• Also, within days, reservations were made for a cabin for myself and the kids near Yellowstone and also for two nights at a campground in Glacier National Park. 

The kids and I are beyond excited! 

Oftentimes, an impulsive act can get you in trouble, especially if trying to do what you want to do  brings nothing but heartache,  but sometimes an impulsive act is nothing less than God tapping you on the shoulder and saying..."I want you to do this!" 

"Nature is the artwork of God"