NOT a Half Marathon Training blog! Looking ahead...

Are you sitting down? This is not a HM training blog entry. Yes, you read that right LOL. Under wise advisement I did not run today because of my cold as I need to rest. I felt like such a slacker but I fully understand that my HM training is now formally over and its taper time. taper time brings out the phobias in all of us. My husband can attest to that. He has learned so much about the training process as much as I have. He is such a trooper and I love him so.

I have not run my first HM yet and this time next week I will be Sparking while wearing my first Finisher's Medal around my neck. I dare you to take it off of me! I will not wear it while in the bathtub but you can be sure that I will hang it from the showerhead to gaze upon its beauty. I am so confident that I will finish and I will have a smile on my face much like I did finishing the Bix. I may not finish it at break neck speed but that is not why I chose to run this distance.

I chose to run this distance because it makes me feel like a runner...an athlete...for the first time in my life. I did this actually for me and my health. I run because I want to be proactive with my health being that i now have to be concerned with breast cancer after losing my mom. I do this for my mom in remembrance of her as I can wear my PINK in order to make people aware of breast cancer. Yes, I do this for the finisher's medal. Even though I have one 5k medal, I may never get another one. Thus, I run HM for the medals too for it is a shining example of the hard work, patience and the time I train that is an investment in me.

Today, while I perused the ol' Spark I came upon a race report of a fellow Sparker that ran the US Air Force HM yesterday at Wright-Pat AFB, Dayton, Ohio. I am a very proud mom of an Air Force vet and experienced the 7 years plus the almost 2 year of Matt being a DEPer as he "signed up" while being a Junior in high school. So, as I researched this HM and marathon it almost literally "glowed" and I knew this was the one I wanted.

I told Jim about it and immediately he told to me put it on the calendar that we are going. So once again, he will patiently help me through the HM training process for it and support me all the way. This HM is something we can share as we love to travel, we have a very strong support for the Military and I can do what I love to do...run the long distance.

With that said, I want you all to know that you may never see me breaking land speed records while running HM's as I do it for the love of running. Speed is not my thing. Running long distances at a slower (12-ish ap) speed is my specialty. At that moment in time I am an athlete. I was one of those fat kids in school that was always picked last. This is the first time that I can be first in my eyes.

That is why I run.

Until next time...

Toodles!