2007 GOAL - #1

When I was 29 I started training for the "Top of Utah" marathon in Logan, Utah. I started in January and spent the better part of a year worrying about what I ate, how much sleep I got, how many long runs I was getting in, how to avoid getting blisters, etc. It was very debilitating. The race was in September and as the months passed by I slowly began to resemble {body and mind} a runner.
A month before the marathon I decided to run in a half marathon up hobble creek canyon just south of Provo. The first several miles of this race were down hill and I flew. I was running just over eight-minute miles which was really good for me. After I finished the race I could tell my legs had taken a beating. But I had no idea how much.
I spent the next month in physical therapy and visited several sports doctors only to be told that I had over trained and that my body, unfortunatly, was not designed to take on such physical strain. I was completely disappointed finding I could barely walk, let alone run. I had to drop out of the Top of Utah race. I've never really been okay with it.
The other day it occurred to me that I really am not getting any younger. And the more years that go by the less likely it is that I'll be able to try again. So I'm making a bold move here and I'm declaring all-out war! In the next year, I'm training for, running, and completing a full marathon. Amie mentioned that Portland was supposed to have a great marathon, very friendly slow runners. So I'm gonna do it. Next November, if all goes well, you'll be reading about my race, how I did my best and finished {this time} a full 26.2 race.
I'll probably be wearing something like this when I run.