Am I crazy?

So, I’ve decided that I’m going to run the 2010 Chicago Marathon. Yes, you read that right: me, the non-runner, running 26.2 miles less than 5 months from now.

Many that know me know that running has always been incredibly hard for me. I have always dreaded it. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I hated nothing more than the day we had to run the mile in P.E. class. I could never finish without walking half of it. Forget any Presidential Fitness awards! Despite all this dread, I have always wished I was better at running. I wanted to be able to run, it just seemed like every time I ran for more than 3 minutes, I was doubled over with a cramp in my side and gasping for breath.

A couple of years ago I decided to give running a try. I found the couch to 5k running schedule and was encouraged that to start, I only needed to run for 60 seconds at a time. I gave the plan a try a couple of times, but it seemed like every time I got to week 5, I would hit a wall and not be able to complete the runs. I would always get discouraged and go back to some other form of exercise.

Then last spring, I decided I was going to conquer this running thing and not give up. My goal to start was to be able to run 2 miles without walking. I made myself stick to it, and although there were some weeks that I had to spend more time on before I completed the runs, I did reach my goal. It may have been only 2 miles, but I’m pretty sure at that point it was the furthest I had ever run in my life. I realized that running was something I could conquer, I just had to train and stick with it. At this point, the marathon started to creep into my mind.

I had always thought of a marathon as something that only highly trained, Olympic level athletes can do. Over the past few years though, I have seen several friends and acquaintances train for and complete marathons. This planted the seed in the back of my mind that a marathon was something I could maybe complete someday. Someday.

I began to think more seriously about running the 2010 Chicago Marathon last fall. I was slowly (very slowly) adding distance onto my 2 miles. I decided that if I could get myself to run 3 miles easily, I would commit to training for the marathon. I got there before registration for the marathon opened in February, and managed to not talk myself out of it before I registered.

There it is: how I came to the crazy decision to run a marathon. I decided to start this blog as a way for family and friends to keep up with my training. I know we’re all busy, so I honestly will not be offended if no one ends up reading this, but I figure that if I’m at least under the illusion (delusion?) that someone is reading it, it will keep me accountable for my training. :) (And I promise every entry won’t be this long…)