Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

As an avid fan of The Biggest Loser, I look forward to the marathon episode each season. I've always been impressed and inspired by what those contestants accomplish, but watching it this season was different. Now that I am all about distance running and my healthy lifestyle, for the first time I watched it and said aloud, "I CAN DO THAT." Not only did I say it, but I believed it. I mean, I completed my first half last fall and was training regularly...why not me?

Fast forward to February 11, 2010 - during that wretched blizzard. In a fit of snow induced delirium combined with months of that nagging 'I want to do this' thought, I logged onto the Richmond Marathon's website. But this time was different, I did more than just look around. I went directly to the registration page and did the unthinkable. I registered. Not for the half or the 8k...for the full. 26.2 miles. Almost the equivalent of running from home to work. Oh. Em. Gee. What the hell had I done? What if I can't do it? What if I don't finish? What if I get injured training? What if, what if, what if...was all I could think of. And then the big one came...what if I never even tried? The nerves subsided and I really started to appreciate the adventure I am going to undertake. Sure, I will miss the mark of completing a marathon by my 30th birthday, but it's only by a couple months. I will do this because I can. I will do it to keep distancing myself from that fat girl of 109 pounds ago- I never want to see her again. I will do this for those who can't.

A little less than nine months from today, I will be running the streets of Richmond, Virginia. Running toward a goal that was once impossible that will be in my grasp. And I can't wait.

No one runs in my family.
I am not built like a runner.
My bones aren’t hollow.
My legs aren’t gazelle-like.
As a child, no one ever said,“Now that one… she’s going to be a runner.”
I am not a marathon runner.
But, I know that no one is a marathon runner until they actually run one.
~Nike Ad

On November 13, 2010, I too will be a marathon runner.