Running for My Life

This blog is about to take a huge change in direction.  I will still post my (mis)adventures in to the world of crafting or cooking or whatever other silly idea enters my head.  But I think I may have just registered for the mother of all "how hard can it be"s.

Let me give you some history.  In spring of 2009 we went on what was supposed to be a once in a lifetime trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  While we were there I noticed an unusual amount of women wearing tiaras, tutus and medals with the castle on it.  I was intrigued and soon found out that these women had participated in what is called Disney's Princess Half Marathon ("The Run").  I made a quiet personal promise that "someday" I too would wear a tiara, tutu and medal from the event. 

Little did I know that hubs was blown away by WDW and when we got an opportunity to return for Christmas 2009 we jumped at it.  Not only did we go on that trip, while there we learned about Disney's Best Kept Secret. 

Fast forward a little and by happenstance our 2012 trip coincides with the half marathon.  I looked in to it and the minimum speed for the race is a 16 minute mile.  That seemed do-able.  I am, by no means, a person of low expectations but I sometimes have to be a realist.  I am 48 years old.  I weigh somewhere in the neighbourhood of 240lbs (I don't have scales so I don't know for sure).  I haven't worked out in over a year.  Sometimes climbing the stairs winds me and I have asthma.  However, I am also a mom to one daughter and I want to be a better example.  More than that, I want to shed this weight and be free of it.  The weight is mostly the result of bad eating habits and low activity, but it's cause is all emotional.  I've been working on the emotional cause(s) and that's for another post. 

So on Saturday just past, I registered my daughter and I as a mother/daughter team in the half marathon.  It wasn't cheap! In the end it was a non-refundable $384.  I don't have to run, I can walk it. But it's still 13.1 miles to do in less than 3.5 hours.... and survive.  I have 121 days until race day to train and I've already put off starting by 2 days!  I did go to the doctor yesterday and discussed it with him.  He said there is no reason I can't or shouldn't do it.  So all that is standing in my way is me.

What I want to do, is time my current comfortable walking pace to see if I already meet the base requirement or if I have to work to even get there.  My confidence would be greatly boosted if I'm already comfortable with a 16 minute mile pace, but I suspect I'm not.  Still, I've got to get on with the training and since the weather here right now is pretty rainy and cold I will have to rely on our elliptical trainer.

So here I go, training for a mother/daughter 1/2 marathon in 121 days because, really, how hard can THAT be?

Friday October 28, 2011

Second Mile done! Yeah Me! 

I honestly felt yesterday like I wanted to do another mile on the elliptical.  But ... I had plans for the day and didn't have time during the day to do it.  I think that's why I wanted to... because I knew I wasn't going to ;)

Today was a no-excuse day and I was going to do a mile!  I have to be honest.  I didn't "want" to.  I just had to.  What I mean is, I don't feel any kind of yearning desire kind of want for the daily workout.  But I DO have a yearning desire kind of want feeling for being able to complete The Run and not die during or after.  The two are connected, but the want is for the big picture, not the babysteps. 

So right now, that's where the challenge is, on the babysteps. I guess this is where I've failed in weight loss attempts before.  I've made goals, but never met them.  They seemed realistic at the time, but clearly they weren't! This is what I was thinking about while I walked my mile today.  This goal has an accountability date.  Feb 26, 2012.  The run date is hub's birthday coincidently.  This goal is clear to me.  I want the medal.  I want to cross the finish line under my own power.  In the process, I HOPE to shed pounds and uncover the woman I believe is living inside my skin.  But I WANT - with a burning, yearning desire - to have that medal for completing The Run. 

I think I finally get this goal setting thing.  Sure, there's some accountability in that I paid $192 for my entry (the rest was for my daughter's ("Dot's") entry).  I told the Hubs and our friends/travel companions I wanted to do this, we booked our joint vacations around The Run date and I convinced my friend, Kara, and Dots to do it with me, and I've announced it here, on Twitter and on Facebook.  That is SOME accountability (as in Wilbur is SOME pig from Charlotte's Web).  My thinking on that though is, none of that matters.  If I can't do it, Hubs loves me enough to forgive me and the rest, will get over it or forget about it.  Even I don't really care about the money, or the failure if I don't do it.  But I know myself well enough to know that come Race Day, I will be in WDW (it's all booked) and I will see lots of women later in the day with their medals proudly around their necks and THAT will kill me if I don't have one.  And therein lies my accountability.  This goal I WANT to achieve more than I've ever wanted anything and I know how bad not achieving it for lack of effort will make me feel.  Knowing that feeling was enough to get me on the elliptical today to complete one more mile.

I changed it up a little today in that I slowed down the pace so it felt "easier" and I completed the mile faster because I didn't have to stop to rest!  YEAH ME!!!