It's on Folks!

Following a not so brief hiatus, I am happy to announce that, it's on folks! We're running again.

Brief update (Claire): I more or less ran twice a week until the winter. I don't have central heating in my house and that makes for a cold morning. Also, my junior high school, like most across Japan, doesn't have central heating and uses kerosene space heaters sparingly. Running before or after school was a terribly unattractive option and since the marathon was months and months away my motivation took a nose dive. Also, I have a job interview and a friend's wedding in October so the Chicago Marathon is out.

Quad Cities Marathon? IN! September 26th we'll finish our first marathon.

Tomorrow I will start the official marathon training. My pre-training has been consistent but sparse. Instead of four times a week I've been running about twice a week for the past three weeks. I am very intimidated by the 3 miles I need to run tomorrow morning.

I've been having two thoughts run through my head, "Just run until it's time to stop" and "You always have more strength." The first I got from the book we're following The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. The second I wrote in my journal during my trip to the Philippines with Habitat for Humanity. We mixed concrete was manually. Pour in mix, pour in water, add dirt, grab shovel, and stir. After a day in the terrifically hot sun doing this I knew I'd avoid this station the next day. Next day came and I was somehow at the concrete mixing station again. So I did it. And that night I marveled at how when you need to do something, there's always more strength left in you.

Let's running!