Yesterday I did something — started something, really — that I anticipate will help me get rid of all the bullshit that crowds my days, evenings and fringes of my mind. I signed up to train with Team in Training, to run the Phoenix Marathon on January 14, 2007.
Why, you ask, would T want to run a marathon? It sounds crazy, right? Well, I am doing it for a lot of reasons, but the bottom line is I want to add some meaning to my life, and this is as good a way as any. I mean really, who among us couldn’t stand to add a bit more value and purpose to our daily lives? It’s all relative, but I’d say most of us. I”m expecting that the time & energy it takes to train for a marathon, and raise the money necessary to get there, will hone my focus to the most important things, and give me the proper perspective on the aforementioned bullshit. My reasons for running the marathon are as follows:
1. I want to get back in shape, to get back into my running routine, and I think having the structure of a Team with set training schedules & goals will help me immeasurably to do that.
2. I am 33, ok? It’s about time I accomplish something momentous, something I can proudly say I did when I get old & gray.
3. I get to help other people too — a major component of Team in Training is that the athletes raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My goal is $3800, and 75% of that money goes towards finding a cure, while the other 25% goes towards the expenses incurred with training my lazy ass to run 26.2 miles!
4. There are still people out there to meet, and friends to be made, and I suspect that the camraderie of training with 100 other like-minded runners will have positive results.
Now I freely admit that this is the most earnest post I’ve ever made to my blog (I can’t even find anything to be snarky about), so tease me & call me out if you need to. I promise my blog won’t turn into “T’s TNT Amazing Jogging Adventure.” But come on, admit it. You want to know how sore I’ll be after training, and who gave me the cheapest donation, right?! Ok, if there’s anything to dish, I’ll dish it.
Pigtails Flying 
[…] ago, when I chose to put aside the words “impossible” and “cannot” and begin training for my first marathon with Team in Training, I was emerging from a sad, dark time in my life. Training for the Arizona […]