In the beginning...

I have always been generally active. I ran in high school and before that. I played sports, skied, biked, etc. I like to hike, rock climb, mountain bike, snow board, water ski and more, but since high school I have never done anything competitive or that would really be considered "exercise" for the purpose of getting or staying "in shape". I have been blessed with good genes (my grandmother is currently 98 years old and shows little sign of slowing down) so I haven't ever really had to. I know that I am extremely lucky in this regard. I feel guilty sometimes when I see the effort that many other people make to stay fit and the struggle they go through to keep the weight off. I have spent the last 30 or so years basically abusing my body by eating anything and everything that I have wanted without any thought as to whether it was good for my body or not. It never seemed to make any difference. I know that is really annoying to those people who gain weight by only looking at food. I am greatful for my genes.
I have thought many times over the years that I should at least make an effort to eat better and to exercise.
A few years ago we learned that some of our family were going to run a half marathon in Moab, Utah. Moab is a great place to mountain bike and hike so we thought we'd join them for the run. I had never trained to run that distance and I hadn't run more than 3 or 4 miles in years but I started running a couple of miles once or twice a week. I didn't bother to look for any real kind of training schedule, I just ran (and not consistantly). When the time came for the race I was in decent shape but I wasn't really ready to go the distance. I finished but was completely exhausted and I hurt for days.
The next year we decided to do it again. I guess it's like when a woman decides to have a second baby, she must have forgotten the first time. I didn't train any better and to make things worse, we took our bikes and went mountain biking the day before the race and spent our legs. I barely finished the race. I was being passed by people that were walking at the end. People were cheering me on as I approached the finish. I think they thought I was handicapped the way I was stumbling along.
There was something infectious about the whole race atmosphere though. We signed up to do it all again. This time I trained a little better. I was still following my own training plan but I ran more and did more distance. I ran my PR and broke 2 hours. I was content with that. I know that's not very fast. I was near the bottom of my age group but I didn't mind. I felt good just finishing and having fun.
The next year we signed up again but weren't selected in the lottery. (They limit the race to 3500 or so runners.) Not having a race to train for we just dropped the running. I guess for me there needs to be more to motivate me than the "joy of running". I need to be preparing for something or I just won't do it.
Having done the half marathons, Amber and I had talked off and on about doing a whole marathon sometime. I had friends that had run them. I was inspired by them and knowing how I had felt after the half marathons I was in awe of anyone that ran twice that far. I knew that if I was ever to run the whole thing I would have to find a more serious training schedule.
We live in an area that is known for endurance events. The Western States 100 mile endurance run comes through our town and finishes just 20 miles away. To some people around here a mere marathon is just a training run. Personally, I think they are crazy. I think there must be something genetically different about them. Some of them don't even do any significant training for it, they just go out and run it. Being around people like that can make one feel somewhat wimpy having never even completed a marathon.
Amber and I decided it was never going to get any easier (and most likely harder) so we should do it now if ever. I searched on the web and found the "Run the River" Marathon right here in Sacramento. It begins in Folsom and finishes in Sac. We have been biking and running on the American River parkway trail before and it is a very pretty route. No hills to speak of and lots of shade. We decide this would be as easy as any we might find so we signed up.
Next post: the training begins.

Just what the world needs...

Ok, so the last thing the world needs is another blog. Heaven knows there are too many out there. So, why am I doing this? My first reason is just to document my progress as I prepare to run my first marathon. I know, I could do that in a less public arena, but I thought there may be someone out there that might relate to my experience. I hope to get some feedback from others who have been through or are going through the same things that I am. As I sit here typing this I think that chances are no one will ever see this or care if they do, but what the heck, here I go.