Turkey Day Running

I spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws this year in upstate NY. Bryan and I went out for a nice 4.5 mile run on Thanksgiving day while the turkey was in the oven and I went for a 7 mile run on Saturday. While running, I realized that I was thankful for many things this year. During the run, I was thankful for the amazing 50 degree days we were having and that I was still able to run in shorts at the end of November. I was thankful for my legs and their ability to carry me all the miles that I run. But I was most thankful for my friends and family for supporting my crazy marathon dream.

Its hard to explain to people just how much time I am going to spend running this winter (I don't know if I fully comprehend the time commitment). Yes, it will mean giving up some things that I enjoy (sleep, some ski days, free time), but knowing that I have so many people in my life that are supporting me and excited for me makes me happy........and thankful!

So as I recover not from the running but from all the turkey and stuffing and cake that I ate over the past couple days, I will try to keep all these things that I am thankful for in my mind as my training continues!

"We're STILL in Hopkinton?!?!?"

Last night, Bryan and I drove out to see some friends that live west of Boston. As we are driving along the Pike, I noticed a sign for Hopkinton (the starting town of the marathon) and commented about having to run back from there. We continued driving for another 10 miles or so and I noticed that we were still passing exit signs for Hopkinton.....do I really have to run from HERE?? The fact is that its 26.2 miles to Boston no matter how big Hopkinton really is. There is no way to get around that....26.2 miles is 26.2 miles no matter how you look at it!

As I have been telling people that I am training to run Boston, the common response is "Wow, that's crazy! Why??" I started to ask myself the same question....why am I doing this? Running is something I do for me. Sure, I am raising money for BMC which will greatly impact others, but the physical act of running is just for me. I guess you could say that running is a selfish act. There are very few things in life that we do for ourselves and to me, this is one of them. The fact that I am raising money for people that need it is a great motivator.

I look forward to sharing my experiences (both the good and the bad) as I train for this challenge. Hopefully by the end of it I will be able to answer this question of why?? And if I haven't answered it by April 16th, then I will have 26.2 miles to think about it!!