Fat Birds Gettin' Fit

Goal setting and self-destination are sometimes difficult things for me to do. In two weeks, serious training for my 1/2 marathon begins. Up until now I've just been dreaming about it and conditioning myself, but in two weeks the real test begins.
Last May something happened to me, I can't really put it into words very well, it was the most powerful experience I've ever had in my entire life.  It was as if something fell from the sky, and suddenly an earth shattering afflatus imploded my brain busting it wide open and I realized, "Hey, I'm alive!" It was a down right humble, spiritually shocking experience and the next thing I knew, change became a fierce determination.
I drove by the park in Garden City one night on my way to the cabin during my proverbial awakening. It was a strange force that made me stop. After learning it was registration for the Mammoth Marathon even stranger things started swirling in my head, and with no warning what so ever, I said right out loud, "I'm going to do it, I'm going to do a 1/2 marathon next year." That was it and ever since, "Can I do it?" Are the only words that keep pounding through my head. Now it's time to pay the piper, put my money where my mouth is, hitch my wagon to a star, that sort of thing.
I'm so happy to announce there are now three of us. Yup, three crazy people; me, Caroline and now my niece Tate has joined the ranks of the wacky women who want to run a half marathon. I promised Tate I'd send her a training schedule and I told her my goals for the race. Here they are in writing.
1- HAVE FUN! Notice this is first and foremost the main priority. I'm thinking of packing my camera and recording the whole experience on film. Fun and enjoyment are the main focus of this race and no sense of competing is going to enter in to this day except for the competition with myself!
2- TRAIL BEHIND! Hahahah Brrrrr. Yes I'm setting a goal right now to purposely lag behind! I'm "NOT" entertaining any ideas of winning anything or even coming in with the middle of the pack! I want to see this race, see the people in it, and glean all there is to glean just by being there. This takes the pressure off of worrying about what my time is going to be and rightly puts the emphasis back on the number one priority - Having fun!
3- LEARN, GROW and GET FIT! My goal to finish a 1/2 marathon is only a resource to develop habits and new ways of caring for the most important thing I posses in this life, my mind, body, and soul! So today I start a new section here on the blog. You can look for it on the side with all of the other categories. It's entitled "Fat Birds Gettin' Fit!" Here I'm going to record everything about training for the 1/2, and all sorts of goodies about how to really appreciate your mind, body, and soul and keep them all in tip top shape! This is the reason I've enlisted in this crazy marathon thing. I want to be healthy and fit. My body is a sacred thing, it is an extension of my spirit, an important element of my soul, and I want to fully appreciate it and care for it like it was meant to be cared for. I hope everyone will contribute their healthy ideas and all the health laden info you run across.
4- RISE SPIRITUALLY! This race is a very spiritual for me. I intend to grow spiritually from this race and have set spiritual goals to help me accomplish this. For me the spiritual side of this race is as vital as the physical side, maybe even more so. I cannot do this race without divine help.
5- FINISH STRONG! The last and final goal, I want to cross the finish line invigorated with optimism and self-satisfaction for having accomplished a goal and for having pushed myself to do something hard. I can't wait to win the race I'm running against myself. It's going to be a win/win all the way no matter what happens.
When Tate queried in skepticism back and forth as to whether she should join, I said to her, "Tate, If you've gotten your butt off the couch, taken so much as one extra step, exercised, and pushed your self even one added day, you've accomplished your goal, and that's a win no matter when or if you cross the finish line." Every day I push for a better me, everyday I improve healthy habits and take steps in this direction produces a win for me, whether I finish the marathon or not! Any knowledge, training, or effort in this direction has led me towards a better me, and that's my real goal, to find myself better today than I was yesterday!
I hope people who read the blog will participate! I've got lots of friends who are bonafied runners and can run circles around me, friends who've done several 1/2 marathons, and friends who really value physical fitness. Please contribute all your ideas! Send them to me in emails, comment here on the blog, and help us accomplish our goals easier.
Let the fun begin, and if you find the enthusiasm inviting I hope you'll join us! You still have two weeks before the training starts. I would love to see a pack of us out on the road. Any takers? Come on, misery loves company! Mt. Dew Man (Gavin)? Seth (I'll do it if Gavin does it)? Girls? Em? Bug? Des is still sticking to her tail bone saga. Friends? Neldoo? Val? Family? Glade? (I'd pay money to see Glade on the road! Chelsey? Corinne, you could fly in! Hahahhaha