Day 1, just 125 to go

This morning in the early morning fog and humidity, the adventure began.

This morning I began 125 days of training for the St. Jude’s Marathon in Memphis on Saturday, December 4.  Eighteen weeks of hard pavement, sweat, blisters, and :) snickers.

A couple of years ago while training for my third marathon, in the throes of WHAT WAS I THINKING????, I told my friend Becky, “Don’t ever let me do this again.”  I finished that race, and well, sorry, Becky, pray for me ‘cause I signed up again.  Needless to say, this will be my fifth. 

I am old enough that I don’t run for the glory or bragging rights or medals.  I run because of health, pure and simple.  Running a marathon pushes my envelope physically and spiritually.  I love what I learn spiritually from running a marathon.  I love it physically because, well, it makes an ordinary day a piece of cake.  Running is not who I am.  Running is just something I do.

So join me as I chronicle my training, the things that I am learning, what I’m struggling with,  and when I fall (which I always do).  If you have no idea what is involved in training for a marathon, please feel free to read my real-life-stinky-shoe non-airbrushed account of what it is like.  Or feel free to join me running and share what YOU are learning too.  My friends Beth, Aimee  and Anna are training in Memphis.  My daughter Kat who is a medical resident at Vanderbilt University hospital also is training with a group of other Vanderbilt doctors in Nashville.  I will be running in Chicago with… my ipod.

“I could never do that,” I have heard A LOT of people say.  Well, it doesn’t start with 26.2 miles.  It starts with stepping out the front door, running a few blocks, adding a few more, and building up one mile at a time.

It started at 7.30 this morning.

Stay tuned.