Last year when I decided to run a marathon a lot of people asked "why?"To be honest I never planned on running a marathon and I definitely didn't plan on running one when I first started training for my first half marathon three years ago. I have never really been a runner and certainly not a distance runner. I did cross country in high school, but it wasn't something I was great at or overly enjoyed. Even when training for a half marathon I never had a desire to run farther than 13.1. In fact, I pretty distinctly remember in one race at mile 12 saying to myself "I will never run a marathon" and "I can't believe the end of this race would only be the halfway mark...those marathoners are crazy."
So why a marathon and why now? To put it simply, I got the marathon itch. I enjoy training for half marathons, but once I had run two (I have only run 3 so far) I was feeling the need to push myself. I'm a competitive person and after having enough people ask me "Well you've done a half when are you going to do a marathon?" I grew tired of saying "no way Jose!" and decided to take on the challenge. Unfortunately my first attempt failed due to an IT band injury and I had to defer until this year. I loved training last year (crazy I know!). I gave up a lot of Friday nights with friends in order to train, but I loved getting up at 5:30 on a Saturday to go run 12-18 miles and watching the sun rise over the monuments. It's hard to beat the feeling of knowing that you ran a half marathon or more before most people even get out of bed.
This year I am really looking forward to training, but more importantly I am looking forward to actually being able to run the race. To motivate myself a little more I'm running the race for charity and raising funds for a nonprofit called Hope for the Warriors. Hope for the Warriors is an amazing organization started back in 2006 by a group of military wives to support wounded US service members and their families. Choosing a charity was difficult as there are so many great organizations you can run for, but ultimately I decided on Hope for the Warriors. If you are interested in learning more about the organization and the multitude of programs it runs you can click on the link above. Their mission also touches home for me as my boyfriend is in the Army and works with wounded soldiers on a regular basis. Hearing about the road to recovery that many of these wounded soldiers face is enough to break your heart and I feel honored to be able to be a part of this team and raise money for a truly worthwhile cause. Over the course of the next four months I have pledged to raise $1000 for Hope for the Warriors and I would ask you to consider making a donation on my behalf here.
So why a marathon and why now? To put it simply, I got the marathon itch. I enjoy training for half marathons, but once I had run two (I have only run 3 so far) I was feeling the need to push myself. I'm a competitive person and after having enough people ask me "Well you've done a half when are you going to do a marathon?" I grew tired of saying "no way Jose!" and decided to take on the challenge. Unfortunately my first attempt failed due to an IT band injury and I had to defer until this year. I loved training last year (crazy I know!). I gave up a lot of Friday nights with friends in order to train, but I loved getting up at 5:30 on a Saturday to go run 12-18 miles and watching the sun rise over the monuments. It's hard to beat the feeling of knowing that you ran a half marathon or more before most people even get out of bed.
This year I am really looking forward to training, but more importantly I am looking forward to actually being able to run the race. To motivate myself a little more I'm running the race for charity and raising funds for a nonprofit called Hope for the Warriors. Hope for the Warriors is an amazing organization started back in 2006 by a group of military wives to support wounded US service members and their families. Choosing a charity was difficult as there are so many great organizations you can run for, but ultimately I decided on Hope for the Warriors. If you are interested in learning more about the organization and the multitude of programs it runs you can click on the link above. Their mission also touches home for me as my boyfriend is in the Army and works with wounded soldiers on a regular basis. Hearing about the road to recovery that many of these wounded soldiers face is enough to break your heart and I feel honored to be able to be a part of this team and raise money for a truly worthwhile cause. Over the course of the next four months I have pledged to raise $1000 for Hope for the Warriors and I would ask you to consider making a donation on my behalf here.
Why this blog? As some of you may know I have been slightly challenged in the motivation department recently and I thought this would be a great way to keep track of my training and motivate me to go out and get the miles I need under my belt. More importantly it's fun and I get to share my experiences training with those who are interested. I promise that this time around I will take pictures of the pretty sunrises I see along the way!
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