26.2 (about)

On September 25, 2011, I decided I'd run a marathon; that's the good news. The bad news is that the marathon was on October 2, 2011. At the time, it seemed like a totally reasonable goal (yes, that is sarcasm) so I set out on Monday and ran 7 miles, a WHOLE seven miles. It went great and I figured I only had to run 19.2 more on marathon day. Piece of cake!

And it was a piece of cake, kind of, or was it that I ate a piece of cake at the finish?? I can't remember exactly, but I DID finish in 4:43:41. Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn (I find that tasteless), but I'm using this as an exception. I'm tooting it because not only did I run a marathon (actually it was more like 26.53 miles, according to my GPS watch), but I did it with NO training AND I had FUN, which is really the ultimate goal! My time will not go down in any record books nor was it even close to a PB for me, but time aside, it WAS a personal best. In the extra time I took to run this marathon, I was able to use the bathroom (on more than one occasion), text my favorite fans to let them know where I was, and I was able to take in the beautiful scenery. Equally important are the lessons I learned from running this marathon: I learned that I really am capable of amazing even myself and that when in doubt, I should always say YES when it comes to exercise. The elation I felt from finishing this marathon far outweighs any feeling I could have had from sleeping in, drinking coffee, and eating a cinnamon roll that morning. Therefore, my new motto is this: when in doubt, WORK OUT! Chances are you'll never regret it!

This race is a great one, and if you ever have the opportunity to run a marathon without having trained for it, then this is the marathon for you!!

Happy running, everyone!