26.2? Challenge, accepted.
<insert inspirational photo montage here>
Crossing the finish line of my first full marathon in Portland, OR in October, 2008
</inspiration>
2008 was kind of a glory year for me. I finished 7 half marathons and 2 full marathons (even landed a trophy for taking the Athena category at Portland). I PR'd several times in 2009 breaking an hour in the 10K and pulling in a 2:13:34 half marathon. Then, I kind of fizzled. I kept running 5K, 10K and half marathon distances randomly through 2010... even got married at a marathon in 2011. 2012 and the first bit of 2013 was full of more regret than rejoice, and even though I kept taking home finisher medals, I was crossing the finish closer to the cutoff time than one would like to admit.
It took a long time to realize what was holding me back. Truth be told, I think I'm still trying to figure all of the factors out. In the meanwhile, I'm going to focus on fixing a few things around here.
Awhile back, I doodled this in a journal one night when I was really feeling down and out. Work sucked. My relationship was rocky. Finances... pssht... no comment...
By "Comfort Zone," I mean locked in my house, on my couch, with my blankie, beer, and Shih Tzu.
Point is, I have the coping skills of a dung beetle. I'll just keep shoveling the same old crap around until I collapse, then wake up the next day and do the same thing over again.
So, I did something about it. Slowly, but surely. We started working on the communication barriers in our relationship. We moved into an exponentially cheaper neighborhood. I even landed a new job that has great promise and already motivates *slash* inspires me to develop myself mentally, physically, and emotionally. In the spirit of keeping positive momentum, I think returning to the glory days of sweat-wicking urban loin cloths, over priced sneakers, and lust for finisher's bling is totally warranted.
Game on.