Excuse me as I take a break from talking about anything else that’s going on in life because I can’t think about anything EXCEPT the marathon.  Yesterday I was in tears because I feared the race would be canceled. NO ONE even mentioned the possible cancellation, it was just one of those things I didn’t even want to occur.

Why would they cancel you might ask?  Winter weather! I intended on the weather being on the chilly side back in February, even though Willie said it wouldn’t happen like that. I didn’t expect a winter storm to literally snow on my dreams. That is why I cried and Willie did his best to console me but it just wasn’t working. I got over it though.

I got over it because I realized I was fretting over something stupid and no one said anything about it not happening. In fact, the opposite happened. There were still posts on the FB pages about the race and last night we received the official event guide in the e-mail. I am SUPER excited to run the marathon. It’s not really about not making it through the 26.2 miles, it’s about how miserable are those last miles going to be. I have a big problem with my hands in cold so I’m trying to find ways to remedy this. Running 13.1 miles is one thing, but doing more with my hand problem actually kind of scares me. I trying to get a plan together for not having to unzip something to get to my gels. My flip belt might come in handy.

I’ve also been fretting over the weather because I wanted to wear our team singlet but it seems like it just might be too cold for that even with a long sleeve underneath but you never know. I’m developing a clothing plan for both of us but I would really love to wear the St. Jude Hero singlet. Luckily, I bought lots of gloves and socks at Black Friday! Did you know there is an app for finding running clothes for correct temps?

I am excited to run this race for several reasons:

1. Willie is going to run a race in his hometown. All of the important people are going to be there to watch him finish his race. He is so excited for this especially because when he left that city he never thought he would want to run a race or be able to run a race since he weighed so much.

2. This is the city where Willie and I fell in love so why not run my first marathon there. Memphis holds so many great memories for me and this is just another great experience I won’t forget.

3. I’ve trained for this moment since June. I thought everyone trained for marathons, but after talking to some of my friends, I see I was wrong. I’ve been running really great lately and I’m comfortable so I am excited to get out there and just do it.

This race is important to me because I’ve worked so hard for this moment. I’ve sacrificed time with family and friends and got in fights with family and friends over my running. I had to defend my running so many times over the past 6 months instead of just enjoying the moments. A lot of negative energy from the outside forces almost made me give up a couple of times, but I didn’t. I run for myself because it’s something that I love to do and everyone who couldn’t/doesn’t understand that…can just move on! This has been the single most important thing in my life because I never thought I could do it, want to do it or be brave enough to attempt to do it. I’ve learned so much about myself over the past 6 months which makes me proud. I’m always looking for other people to tell me they are proud of me, but for the first time I’m making myself proud! No one can take this moment away from me because I worked for it! I started loving MYSELF again instead of just focusing on loving and doing things for others.

I want everyone to find something they want to do and just do it. Find it, plan it out and work for it! You will find out so much about yourself!

What is the one thing you want to do? Will you do it?