In the beginning...

I suppose I should start from the beginning. My wonderful husband was training for an Ironman. He thought it would be a great idea if I took up running. He thought it would allow us to spend more time together and really bond. We work different shifts, you see.

I was a smoker (17 years of practice!!!) but willing to give it a try! Our goal for me was to run a half marathon! A few months into running I decided to quit smoking. Only because I had a very dear friend die from Lung cancer. His name was Elgin McFadden and he was a beautiful man who loved life. He suffered for over a year with his cancer. He had multiple surgeries and endured so much pain only to be taken by the disease. I saw what this did to his wife Pam and I decided that I couldn't put Andrew through the tourment, so i quit! I still miss it to this day (over 2.5 years)!!!

I completed my first half marathon (and beat my husband! I will save that story for another time). I went on to run two more half marathons over the next year and a half.

January 2007, my husband gives me a book called "Ultramarathon Man" by Dean Karnazes. I read the book in 2 days (fast for me!). I immediately signed up for a marathon in May 2007. A few weeks into training I was toying with the idea of an Ultra marathon. During my work outs I would envision myself running an Ultra! I really liked the idea. I thought that what I lacked in experience I made up for in determination! I decided that the first marathon I ran would be a part of my year long training towards my Ultra. I completed the first marathon (4:25:59) and immediately signed up for a marathon in October of 2007: The second phase of my Ultra training!

Here I am today, almost 9 weeks into the training for the 2nd marathon! I love running. I smile a lot when I run. I envision my Ultra race and it makes me happy. I love to train!! I hate the heat and I hate running on a treadmill for longer than 30 minutes but, I love to train!

My Ultra marathon is called Sulphur Springs Trail Races! They offer several distances from a 10k to a 100 mile race. I am going to run the 50 miler! I guesstimate that it will take me 12 hours to complete! I am so pumped.

This blog is to help me record my thoughts during the training period. I love the training more than the race itself. Correction... the race is different than the training. The race is only one day and the training is a journey. The journey is the most important part to me. It will bring me to my destination! This blog is a journal of my journey to the Ultra!