Crazy, right?
I have a little bit of news, which is the reason for a couple of new tags on this post... I am now signed up to train for the Mayor's Midnight Sun Half-Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska (June 20)! I am really excited about it!
You think it's crazy? It might be...especially if you knew anything about my running history (or non-running). I ran track in the 8th grade, but I would not call myself a runner--even back then. I only really did track in 8th grade because I wanted to do the long jump, which I was fairly good at, although I never placed. I also did the mile run and the 200m sprint. I did all right at the sprint, but on the mile I was usually among the last 2 or 3 to finish. In high school I wasn't able to go to practice every day because I lived so far from the school. So, that was the end of my organized sports career. A couple of years ago I wanted to give myself a goal to push myself to exercise a little more, so I prepared for and completed a few 5ks. It did get me to run a little more, and although I finished all the 5ks in decent times, I didn't completely run any of the races. In fact, I don't think I've actually run more than 2.5 miles in a single stretch without walking.
So why a half marathon, and why now? I would love to have a new goal to work toward, and would like to get into better shape, and it seems that a structured training schedule might be something I'd benefit from since I have a crazy busy schedule. But the thing that really inspired me to do it was when I heard about Team in Training. TNT trains people for events like marathons, triathlons, hikes, bikes, etc. to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, whose goal is to find cures for blood cancers. This is obviously a good cause, and just about everyone is touched by cancer in one form or another. Personally, I am running for one of my oldest friends, chimalis . It is so hard to helplessly watch someone so close to you go through something so awful. I wish there was something more that I could do to specifically help her situation. And making this personal committment and raising a little bit of money to find the cure seems like such a small contribution when you consider the greater problem. But it will be a challenge for me, and I can't think of a greater cause or recipient than a dear, dear friend.
I plan to use LJ to document my progress/journey, so more to come!