Runnin' Runnin' and Runnin' Runnin'

It's been an eternity since I've put fingers to keyboard for anything besides emails.  Well, I take that back.  I have also logged a few hours of browsing Pinterest for nearly-divine inspiration.

Mostly, I've just been working and playing and planning and organizing and cleaning and cooking and driving... and driving....

And then there's the running.  Somewhere in between the new job and the new school years and the New Year's Resolutions and the new days that come and go so quickly, I decided to add a new "New" to my list.  I have been training to run in a half marathon at the end of February.

Two weeks from today, a lifelong friend, a new(er) friend, and I will don sparkly running skirts, sassy t-shirts, wands and wings and compete in the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Orlando.

My pink sparkly skirt!

Since October we've been following a training schedule, making adjustments to our eating, sleeping, exercises habits, and pounding the pavement several days each week.  I'm not quite sure what my greatest motivator is for accomplishing this goal.  I came close to finding it on Pinterest recently.  A poster that states,

"Someday I will not be able to do this.  
Today is not that day."

I'll be 37 years old in a few months.  And that feels awfully close to 40.  If you had asked me 20 years ago what my mid-life crisis was going to look like, I would have described some sort of sports car, I am sure.

Instead, I'm sweating what's left of my thirties out on the various trails of my fair city, trying to prevent chaffing and blistering across various parts of my body.  It's super duper fun.

A couple of weeks ago, I ran 11 miles.  Eleven.  MILES.  A half marathon is 13.1 miles, so I am just 2 miles shy of conquering this baby.  Sometime this week, you know.. when I can find a few hours to spare, I will run my final "long run" before the race.

At this point I am excited and anxious and quite intimidated.  I've discovered that the mental battle of being with yourself for 2 1/2 hours is just as daunting as the physical part.  I've done a lot of praying, a lot of listening to sermon podcasts, and just in case you think I'm getting super-spiritual, I've also listened to a lot of the Black-Eyed Peas, too.

 Let's get it started. In. Here.

Perhaps when this princess run is over and done, I'll get back to blogging.  For now, though, my goal is to fix the code on the "instagram" gadget on my sidebar.  Just so that at least I'll have new photos flash up now and then to convince my family and friends that we're still alive...

And just runnin', runnin'....