The Journey Begins...Unofficially!.

Tomorrow I begin a "base building" program. While marathon training does not officially begin until September, over the next 15 weeks I will work on improving my fitness and endurance levels so that I am prepared for marathon training. They're not the glorious weeks that will lead directly up to one of the most significant endeavors of my life, but it is an extremely valuable and meaningful time period nonetheless.

So, while it's not the jump-start into full training, I still see this as the first step in a long road to 26.2 miles. I cannot really express how much I am looking forward to the marathon, and not just for the race itself. I am fully expecting this whole process to be transforming on multiple levels, and in many ways that is why I am somewhat jumping at the bit to begin it. I see the marathon not necessarily as the achievement, but the embodiment of all I will have achieved come the day I cross that starting line. When I run that marathon, I want to be running it as a different person than I am at this moment: stronger, more confident, healthier, calmer, happier, and more settled. There is no doubt that running and training will bring all this into my life.

Running has profoundly impacted my life, since the days I ran XC and track in high school to my most recent year-and-a-half long reconnection with the sport which has included the running of 2 half marathons. I bask in the highs, learn from the lows, and revel in the entire process. With each mile I grow, and I love that it is a measurable sport, both literally and figuratively.

Running means so much to me, and training for this marathon will definitely be a defining moment in my life. I want to capture these months through this blog as a record of my journey, and I will capture each mile to log the hard work I put in to achieve this lifelong goal: run a marathon!

Yesterday I went out for my first run since a half-marathon last month. It was an easy 2 miler, but because I haven't run in a month it did feel a bit hard. But even in a run as short and uncomfortable as an "out of shape 2 miler" I still had a fleeting sensation of that overpowering, invincible state of mind that running begets. I saw that run as a prelude to what is to begin tomorrow...the unofficial beginning of my journey!