Dream Big: 26.2?!

Now that I have run two half marathons (you can read my recaps here and here) I have been thinking more and more about making the jump to the full marathon. Ever since reading about the New York City Marathon a year and a half ago I have known that I wanted to run a marathon. I have dreamed about what it would be like to train for and run 26.2 miles. But at the same time, it was all just a dream. It was something that I said I was going to do at some point in my life, but it didn't matter when I did it. It was not something that I was ready for yet. Until now.

Since I ran my first half marathon in October I have been tossing around the idea of running a marathon this fall. But that's all it was: an idea. I liked to think that I was going to run a marathon but in reality it probably wasn't going to happen. But all of that changed on Monday.

These people can run 26.2 miles!

I was talking with a family friend who used to be a runner about the Rock N' Roll USA Half Marathon and the Rock N' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon in September. He has done both races, but before they were bought by Competitor. He asked me if I had ever run a full marathon and when I said no he asked completely seriously why not. I told him I wanted to run one at some point but that I was happy running half marathons right now. He didn't like my answer.

After talking for awhile longer he had convinced me that I really could run a marathon in the near future. I liked knowing that a very experienced runner was telling me that I was ready to make that leap.

When I came home I told my mom about what our friend had said. I expected her to say that I didn't have enough experience as a runner and that a marathon was realistic but in a few more years. She did not give me the response I was expecting.

She said she thought I could run a full marathon this fall. At that moment, the idea of running a marathon became real. It became no longer something so far fetched. All I keep thinking is that this is now real. I am still not sure if I am going to run a marathon this fall but only because I want to make sure that I will have time to properly train (I need to figure out my schedule for next fall first).

Yay, more marathon pictures!

This may not seem like a big deal to all of you who run multiple marathons a year but this is huge for me. Running a marathon is no longer one of those bucket list items that we say we want to do and really intend to do at some point but never get around to. Running a marathon is becoming a reality.

And it is scary, but something I have been dreaming of for a long time now.

This is not me telling you that I am running a marathon this year, but rather this is me telling you that once I am sure that I can dedicate the proper amount of time to training I will run a marathon.

I love pictures of people running.

I haven't scheduled my classes for next fall yet but I can tell you that based on the classes that I am planning on taking I will most definitely have the time to embark on this journey. I have already been looking at what marathon I would run in the fall if the opportunity presents itself and I think I have made my decision.

All I have left to say is that if I do run a fall marathon it will be the best time of my life!

Don't Settle for Less Than the Best, Be the Best

Since running my very first half marathon on Saturday, I have been designing a training plan for my next half in March. I have been trying to think about what I want to achieve from this race and how to achieve those goals. In doing all of this I started thinking about what kinds of training elite and professional runners do.

I have always been involved in some type of athletic activity: soccer and dance when I was a kid, swimming growing up and through high school, and now running. I was a pretty successful swimmer, qualifying for nationals, but I never really reached my full potential. 

I have always settled for being mediocre and for no good reason at all. Now I know I will never be as fast as a Kenyan, and I am okay with that, but I sure as hell can be better than I am now. I have only been running for a few months now, and most of my training has been extremely inconsistent. 

I started wondering what I could achieve if I really put my heart and soul into running and trained consistently. I have absolutely no idea what I could I achieve, but you know what, I want to find out. I want to be a runner.

I know I have the drive and determination to do great things, and honestly I am so sick of just settling. This is my life and I should strive to achieve the best for myself. I am only sabotaging myself by not putting my all into my training. 

I am ready to be happy and proud of myself and to be the best version of myself. I want to know that I put my all into everything and that I deserve to do great things. 

And this goes for more than just running. I don't want to settle for a B in school when I know an A is possible with an extra hour of studying. I want to be the best sister, daughter, friend, student, girlfriend possible. 

I think it is really important, though, to make sure that I am only doing the things that I love and that I would to dedicate myself to. With passion there really is nothing anymore. 

I have big dreams for myself, I always have and I always will. I don't want to be what is holding me back any longer. I want to do an Ironman someday, I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon someday. If I never achieve the goals I set for myself I want to know that I gave it my all and couldn't have tried any harder.

No day but today. Get moving and start achieving those dreams!

Achieving Greatness

I know July isn't quite over yet but August is right around the corner. I have a lot coming up in the next few months which means I am going to be pretty busy. I have been really inspired by fellow bloggers who maintain really busy lifestyles and still train for hard races. Emily just recently completed her first Ironman while working full time, and Lauren and Emily are training for their first Ironmans too. As I was reading about their journeys I started thinking that someday I would like to finish an Ironman. The problem is that the longest race I have done so far is a 5K, and I have never done a triathlon. So why would I want to do an Ironman?

Growing up I was a competitive swimmer for 11 years, and I was pretty good. However, I was unable to achieve greatness because I was sidelined three years in a row for devastating injuries that ultimately left my unable to compete anymore. I was ripped out of the sport right when I was just starting to reach my potential. I may not be the best athlete but I know I am destined for greatness. I have a fire inside me and a burning passion to compete. Lately I feel like I have been holding myself back. I wanted to achieve greatness in swimming, but just because I can't compete anymore doesn't mean I can't achieve all that in running or triathlons. I have always come up with excuses as to why I shouldn't train harder or put more time into the sport. But I am done trying to cheat myself.

I want to pour my heart and soul into my training and find out how great I an really be. Now this does not mean that I am going to give up my social life or let training consume all of my free time. It means that I am going to make all the right decisions regarding my training and stop half-assing things. I don't want to skip a workout for silly reasons, but I will skip workouts for being injured, sick, and extremely tired. My ultimate goal is to complete an Ironman within the next few years but I will see where my training takes me.