The Country Music Half Marathon: One Week Before The Race

So, in about a week, I'll be running in the Country Music Half Marathon. Now, I've gone over my running story before (here) and talked about why it's important for to set and reach goals (here) and why I run (here)... but I just want write a little about how I'm *feeling* as I prepare for the race.

I feel like I've been training for this race for years. I know there are people out there that go out and run 13 miles every weekend, and it's no big deal. Well, I haven't reached that point yet. It's still an incredibly big deal.

I have wanted to be someone who could "run" a half marathon since I completed the OKC Marathon in April of 2004. That was SEVEN years ago!

In SEVEN years:

1. I ran over myself with my own car.
2. My mother died.
3. I got another master's degree and became a librarian.
4. I had 2 kids.
5. I have been bitten by a dog and had to go to the E.R.
6. I became a runner.

I hope that one day soon, I'll be a runner who runs half marathons regularly (not every 7 years). But, even then, this event is going to be special to me because it's been something I wanted to do for the past 7 years. It's the beginning of greatness. I have no doubt

I'm already making plans for what I'll do after the race. I'll work on strengthening my longer runs. I'll do a little more weight training. I'll be stricter with my nutrition. Then, in September, I already have another half scheduled.

But, no matter what my time is, or what my race experience is, I know this upcoming race is significant. And I'm really excited.

Don't forget to come over and hang with us on Facebook, where we discuss motivation, nutrition, and how many of us secretly believe Shaun T. is our imaginary boyfriend.