Well, That Escalated Quickly

After mulling it over for what seemed like an eternity (okay, so it was like two days), Will and I decided to register for the 2014 Air Force Marathon. Woot! This will be our third marathon together and we hope to make training a family affair with our little one in the BOB stroller.   

I'm kind of tired just thinking about it, but . . . ONWARD!

Here's the training plan:

Oh yeahhh it's entered in a fancy Excel sheet.

Basically I have a month to get my butt in shape to run a 20+ mile week. No pressure or anything. It's funny to look back and see that a year ago, I also decided to start training for a race again. Onllyyyyy, my run pace was 2-minutes per mile faster-ish. And I thought I was way out of shape, then. 

Back to the training deets. It's the same training plan we used when we ran the 2012 Miami Marathon, where we PR'd. (I finished in 4:14:09 and Will finished in 4:07:34, while the previous year---not on this plan---we ran the 2011 A1A Marathon and Will ran a 4:19:08 and I ran a 4:31:47.) I know Will has big plans to break 4 hours. I've heard stories about women having babies and getting faster and I would love to join the club, but---let's be real---I'm just going to be happy to finish. If I finish. Especially when this body is another human's only source of sustenance. (N.B. I've done a ton of research on breastfeeding and exercise and I'm confident that I will more than make up for any calorie deficit that presents itself. I just bought a box of these tiny little sprinkled bakery cookies and ate a couple without realizing they have 120 calories EACH.)

Why am I doing this? Obviously, I like to eat. So I'm doing it for my health. But, surprisingly, mainly my mental health. Running gives me an outlet for all this frustrated, pent up energy that comes with life, especially now that I'm a mom. (A mom! Did I really just say that?) Kind of like why I blog, actually. Not to mention I enjoy having a goal, pushing myself, and offering up each run. I welcome the time where I can just zone out and not think, OR, if I want, I can think, reflect, pray. I do both depending on the day and the amount of caffeine in my bloodstream. Either way, I always feel better afterwards. I mean let's be real - I like having ran more than I like running. After a run, I feel healthier, and happier because of it. That's the bottom line. It helps me be my best.

So please join me in the next 25 weeks of training. Weekly running updates can't be any worse than weekly pregnancy updates, can they? And at least I can't possibly mention poop in a running post! (Please don't go digging in my archives and make a liar out of me.) 

Now I won't be solely blogging about Will. For shame! Here's a gratuitous baby pic, for fear of future mommy guilt:

Chins on chins on chins.