Sooo I'm Gonna Run a Marathon (EEP!)

I know it's been a while since I have written even a sentence in this blog. But due to some new developments in my life I have decided to pick it back up. I'm also going to make a focus of this my upcoming first ever marathon! Let's start from the beginning...

About a year and a half ago I ran my first half marathon, the Fort Lauderdale 13.1. I thought that was far enough, but in the back of my mind I thought that I would eventually run a full just so I could say that I did it. After all doesn't a MARATHON sound so much cooler than a half marathon. I didn't know when I would feel ready for it though, I mean it isn't something that you just walk into. Last year I thought I might do it, but I don't think I was really mentally ready for all of the training that would go into it. I decided after this year's running season (5 half marathons) I would look at doing a full in 2013.

So after hearing about this marathon I really wanted to do it. First off I have never been to California, let along San Fran, but it was somewhere I've always wanted to go. Besides that the race itself looks like fun. It is the women's race so everything is catered to women. At the end of the race when you cross the finish line you are greeted by firefighters in tuxedos who hand you a Tiffany's box with a necklace instead of a traditional medal. It was badass enough for me to instantly want to sign up. 

So honestly, my running has not been as consistent as I would like it lately. The summer and all of that has really gotten to me and left me not lacing up my shoes at the end of the day. But now. Eep. I'm going to have to run. So I found out on Friday that I had gotten into the race and immediately started to throw together my training plan. After a celebratory night on Friday and a day spent on my couch Saturday it was time to start my training on Sunday.

Run #1 6/30/2013 - Goal: 5K 

Since I have not run in a while I decided to start slowly with a leisurely 5K around my neighborhood. My area backs into a golf course which has great wide sidewalks and generally very walker/runner friendly. I started out later than I would have normally liked but since it was only going to be a fairly short run I figured it would be okay. The heat and my lack of consistency really slowed me down. But the important thing is that after roughly 44 minutes (ick) I was done. The beautiful thing about running in the morning is that it really opens up the rest of my day and I can go about enjoying my Sunday without the looming afternoon run I have ahead of me. Overall this was not my best run but it was the first in my training for my first half marathon. 

I took some pictures of myself after the run because I'm going to try to hold myself accountable with this and document my training. Here's to day 1 and 111 more days until October 20th. 

~Emily