Those Pesky Resolutions

So, remember way, way, way, way back when I was full of optimism and excitement for the new year? With all the fortitude and naivety I had, I declared my resolutions for 2007. What was I thinking??? This is proof that crazy hormones and sleep deprivation do strange things to a person.

Even though I have all the reasons in the world (I can reason my way out of anything) to bail on the half-marathon resolution, I figured that I really needed to do this. After all, it’s only a half-marathon, I’ve already done a full marathon before. What’s the big deal?

Sad to say, it is a big deal. I completed (walking, not running) a full marathon in June 2004. Here are a few differences from now and then.

Back then, I trained with a team. I was fundraising to support an important cause. On high mileage days, the team support set up the course, water breaks, etc. We had a personal trainer to ask questions and help with stretching. That was before I got my new job as a manager, which then led to two years of 10-12 hour days sitting at a desk in front of a computer, driving all over Texas, sitting at the phone on conference calls, or sitting on an airplane (which translates to not much physical activity!). Oh yeah, and my body has been through a few changes. A year ago, I looked like this...YIKES!

So needless to say, training for this half-marathon has been almost harder than training for the full marathon 3 years ago. And needless to say, I have not been near as good at following the training schedule. This time around, I just get whatever miles in that I can get in. The good news is that hopefully the weather conditions in Dallas will be a little better than when I did the full marathon. For some crazy reason, I thought it would be fun to complete my first-ever marathon in Hawaii…in the middle of the summer with 90+ degree days…on the IronMan black lava rock course. Here’s my fake smile from the middle of the course.

I truly was so miserable, I had to muster something up to look like I was having a good time and came up with the goofy thumbs-up! By this point in time, I was sunburned, dehydrated, and had completely numb feet from the sweat and blisters. Doesn’t that sound like fun to you? Honestly, Dallas' 30-40 degree temperatures would be a welcome relief from that.

Since I’m just about 10 days out from the big day, I figured it was time to truly hold myself accountable and put it out there on the blog. I have no expectation for a fast time, since I seem to be much slower these days. My goal is to just finish all 13.1 miles. The fun part is that my Dad and several friends are all doing it as well. I’m sure they’ll be able to complete a full marathon by the time I finish the half.

But hey, we all get the same T-shirt!

PS: For any of you that watch The Office, walking a marathon is not near as dorky ask Andy made it seem. Or maybe it is, and I'm just in complete denial. If so, please don't tell me.