A new journey

As many of you know, I ran in the 2005 Chicago Marathon.  I LOVED every minute of it and the moment I crossed the finish line I decided that I would run it again.  Well, then I met Phil that winter, fell in love, got engaged, got married, got a new apartment, started graduate school and so on and never did get up the motivation to do it again.

So, I am nearing 2 years of marriage and have loved every minute of it, except for the fact that I have become absolutely lazy when it comes to working out and running.  So much for that next marathon, huh?

Not quite so fast.  My older sister, Jennie, ran in her first 10K on Memorial Day.  She was so excited and proud of herself and posted this on her facebook page and the following conversation ensued:

Well, once my younger sister, Maggie, said she would fly in from DC, I got excited and went to register for the Chicago 1/2 marathon.  Then Maggie registered for the race.

And then there was drama.  Turns out Jennie may not have been available that day, so I go into problem solving mode, but it turned out to not be necessary because she could – so, all three English girls are registered to run in the Chicago 1/2 marathon on Sept. 12.  Phew.

Now what? How the hell am I  going to get and keep myself motivated to run 13.1 miles, when for 2 years I have struggled just to get myself to run 3 miles? How am I going to get my butt up early every Saturday morning to torture my body (well, it does feel like torture now and hopes it won’t soon) to go for long runs when I have been blissfully sleeping in the past two years?  How am I going to get myself to run in 90 degree heat after working a full day and spending an hour in traffic??  What am I thinking!?

This is where you (whoever you are) will come into play.  I hope that you will follow my journey and when I haven’t blogged in a while, ask how my progress is going.  I give you good stories – you keep me accountable.  Deal?

Even though my official training doesn’t start until next week, I have been ACTUALLY working out.  I went on THREE runs last week!  When I went to run on Monday, however, I discovered that I have shin splints.  DOH!  Already on the bench!  Though, I am not alone – my sisters also have set backs.  Maggie has an upper respiratory infection and Jennie has something funky going on with her back.

I an currently focusing on recovering from my injury with a little bit of TLC and rest.  Yesterday I rested by going to the Cubs game and today I will rest by having some wine with my friend Karen.   In all seriousness, I really do need to take it easy because injuries will keep me from getting into a good workout rhythm.  As someone who is an EXPERIENCED marathoner I know what I am talking about.

I do hope we all rest and recovery quickly so we can get this training started!  LET’S GO ENGLISH SISTERS!

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