Marathon Running

I discovered some months ago that one of my cousins had a blog. I checked out the link, figuring it was probably full of the random personal thoughts that most people put on their blogs. Instead, I found a post about how to run two big races on back-to-back weekends¹.

I thought she was insane I mean, she was on a different wavelength than I was.

I haven't been able to get that image out of my head ever since, though. I'm obviously overweight and out of shape, but I'm pretty healthy all-around, and I tend to think of myself as reasonably strong. But two races in a row? Can people even DO that? It made me realize that, even if my cousin's standards are on the high side, that maybe my standards are on the definitely-too-low side.

Insert the last two weekends.

Let me skip all the long whiny details and just say that on the first weekend, I packed the five kids into the van² and drove up to Seattle for a family reunion. The following weekend we all went camping on the coast for Brittany's wedding. (A highly successful, and very hippie³ affair.) In between these two weekends, I thought to myself, "Gee, this is a lot like running two marathons in a row."⁴

That's not the only time that running has come up lately. My other cousin blogged about her adventures with running. Jen @CD blogged about running(take #2). Every time I try to do a Wii Fit workout⁵, I think about how my only real successful⁶ attempt at establishing an exercise routine was when I started walking on a treadmill and eventually found myself running and liking it. And my new friend from Spanish class brought up the Race for the Cure.

I think I've even dreamed about running.

The only problem is, I have no idea how to make this happen. I don't think even a collapsible treadmill would fit into our tiny crowded apartment. I don't think I can afford a gym membership, and even if I could, the hassle of babysitting and driving and whatnot means it probably wouldn't happen very often. There's no time that would be convenient for me to go walking/running around our neighborhood without the kids, and with them, I can't even maintain a brisk walk, much less a run.

So I guess I will put it in God's hands... it's up to him to make this possible, since he has put the desire in my heart.



<sup>1. I think this was the post about runing two races.

2. Remember all those bags of clothes that I decluttered, and then got in the way of looking for Tire Jack? I still haven't found someplace to donate them to, so I had to carry them all back inside and pile them up in my bedroom, so that I could fit all our bags and stuff into the van. Just so you have *some* whiny details. Also, Kyrie threw up within a half hour of leaving for Seattle, and Savi got carsick on the way back down. So there.

3. It was a beach wedding. The day was windy, so everyone's hair was blowing around. Someone pointed out that all the bridesmaids had long hair, and all the groomsmen had hair just as long.

4. If you don't think taking five kids out of town sounds like as much work as running a race, you probably haven't done it before. This is also why I haven't posted in awhile, although I suspect no one noticed.

5. Which should be 5x/week, but is more like once every two weeks.

6. I call it successful because I did it 5 days a week for about 5 months. Then it died an abrupt death with the simultaneous onset of a Minnesota summer and another pregnancy. I just couldn't stand to wear shoes in the heat and didn't think I should be trying to run without them. Although I might reconsider that thinking in light of Jen's comments about the Born to Run book.</sup>