Commencing Training

   Oh my goodness, friends... After joking and dreaming about the possibilities of it for a few months, today I step boldly and sweatily into the half-marathon training program for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon later this Spring. Between now and April 28, my goals are twofold:

• To be conditioned to run 13.1 miles at a reasonable pace.
• To do so in front of lots of other human beings without having a nervous breakdown.

   I am more optimistic about the first half of this venture than the second. Of course, losing a little curvy padding around my posterior would not hurt my feelings one bit. I won't lie, "skinny" is always on my radar. And running just a few times a week has made a nice difference there and all through my life.

   But the good news in the vanity department is that by making running a true habit, a regular fixture in my life, being skinny has taken a back seat. No pun intended. hahaha

   The more I run, the better I feel instantly. And the less junk my body craves. And the more water I tend to drink. So, the more I run, the more I tend to slim down, naturally. It's all part of my word for this year, STRENGTH.

    Anyway, the program includes more than running. Twice a week I am supposed to incorporate strength training and stretching, which I'll interpret as either yoga or Pilates. These are on Mondays and Saturdays, so today I have a date with Jillian Michaels.

   On running days, though, my dusty, sticker-ridden shoes will be tromping around the back field here at the farm, negotiating hills and tree roots, eluding a snotty llama, and keeping beat with a slew of late 90's rappers.

   Have you started a New Year fitness regimine? Would you like to join me in this perfectly realistic schedule? If you're local, would you like to do some running around a lake or park soon?

   One final thought before I close up and head outside for an amazing Springlike day in Oklahoma... Edie at {lifeingrace} said this last year of fitness... That it is an excellent servant but a terrible master. I could not agree more. Whatever you do for your body, let it be something that serves you rather than something to which you become a slave yourself. Amen.

   Okay, see you around! I have a 70-degree day to soak up!

"There is a necessity for a regulating discipline of exercise that,
whilst evoking the human energies,
will not suffer them to be wasted."
~Thomas de Quincey
xoxoxo