Thirteen Mondays


There are thirteen Mondays from now until the Boston Marathon. It will be the third time I line up with herds of humans to run 26.2 of the most coveted miles on the planet.

And this is the crazy thing. I'm a mom with four kids. I look like a skinny turtle-chicken when I run and I'm posting a picture to prove it. I don't train the right way because I don't like rules and I sort of just make up my plan as I go.  There are at least two marathons that I lined up for and I had only run 14 miles as my "distance training"-- but I was in my 20s and there wasn't a lot of easy to access information about the importance of training. But my body begs me for miles and I give in because I can and for that I am forever glad.

               

For my entire life I've loved running. There are very few miles in the 1000s of miles I've pounded out that I did not want to be running and I probably found out the next day that I was pregnant. Yes, you now definitely know I am not of the right mind.

But I feel the most in my right mind when I am running. Because that is when everything rolls away and it is feet and earth and lungs and legs. This morning, I had time for a short run. Just four miles. But I knew it was Monday and I knew that in 13 of these I will be ready to go.

I do train now. I'm 43, not 23. That changes my approach and as it turns out, training pays off. At 41, I ran my fastest marathon; therefore buying my ticket to the starting line at Boston.

So, for the next thirteen Mondays, I'll post stories that take us to the line -- because although you might not be a runner, you're probably a dreamer and you have your own line your aiming for ... I'm preaching to my stubborn self here. I might be able to work up to a marathon, but there are other things I'd like to work on building up to accomplishing. So here it goes.

Making A Plan

This is something that doesn't come naturally to me at all. This helps the "Not Following A Marathon Training Plan" make sense. I think I fear a plan. That means follow through. That means showing up. That means possible failure and the thought of failing is paralyzing. I literally freeze. Please please don't ask me to be in charge. Please please don't make me be the one to decide! My vision gets blurry and my brain turns to mush. Decorating decisions - PURE HELL! Family trips - JUST LOAD UP! Dinner - It's gonna be good, but I just sauté an onion and start adding stuff to it until its a meal!

So, on this Monday. Thirteen Mondays before race day, Let's make a plan. If you need to get in shape. Make a plan. Not a big one. Get up and move. Take a walk. Think, "I'm going to run one mile before next Monday." It might even be, "I'm going to not eat anything after 8 p.m." Or "I"m going to make that phone call." Maybe its, "I"m going to check one thing off this list."

Running isn't difficult for me, but so much is. Before next Monday, I'm going to paint the wall that needs painting and I'm going to find a pattern to sew a dress for my girl that wants so much to sew a dress. That is all. That isn't much, but it is a plan.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, will get you to the line!!!













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