EIGHT WEEKS

By this time eight weeks from now I will have crossed the finish line of my 3rd half marathon. They may have to take me away on a stretcher after I cross the finish line, but only AFTER I cross the finish line! This is what my training schedule looks like for the next 8 weeks:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
8/27/2012	2	4	4	Rest	Rest	4	XT
9/3/2012	2	4	4	Rest	Rest	6	XT
9/10/2012	2	4.5	4.5	Rest	Rest	7	XT
9/17/2012	3	4.5	4.5	Rest	Rest	8	XT
9/24/2012	3	5	5	Rest	Rest	9	XT
10/1/2012	3	3	XT	Rest	10.9	3.1	XT
10/8/2012	3	5	5	Rest	Rest	7	XT
10/15/2012	3	2.9	2	Rest	Rest	Rest	13.1

I have to admit, I am a little scared (OK, a LOT scared) to think of running 13.1 miles 8 weeks from now. As one of my great friends reminded me this morning, one step at a time. I need to remember to just take one step at a time. The truth is, my training hasn't gone the way I wanted. This is the third race this year that I have had to change my distance on. I was going to do Dam to Dam 20K and ended up doing the 5K, I was going to do the Prairie Fest 10K and ended up doing the 5K, I was going to do the Des Moines full marathon, and am now doing the 1/2 marathon. It frustrates me that I haven't met the goals I set out, but life happens and the important thing is that I haven't given up. I love this quote I saw the other day:

I have to remember that no matter what happens I need to just have the courage to continue. Giving up is not an option. There may be runs that don't go as well as I would like, there may be races that I am not able to do the distance I would like to do, there may be times I even don't finish a race. Ryan Hall has been a huge example to me of someone with the right attitude. He is an Olympic marathon runner who trained and worked hard to make the Olympic team and go to London this year. He ended up with his very first DNF (did not finish) of his career.

He wrote about that experience here: http://innovationforendurance.msn.com/articles/detail/running/253330745

I love when he says, "I find that the best way for me to deal with disappointment is to re-establish perspective and hope.  The perspective I need now is looking at the Olympics in the light of my entire career and how that experience can help me break through in the future.  I always learn more in my failures than in my successes. While I never hope for my biggest failures to come in the Olympic Games I will use it to my advantage in the long run."  While I am not an Olympic marathoner, I need to look at the big picture as well. Everything I'm doing is focused on becoming healthy spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The things I have either done or which have happened to contribute to lack of health in these areas did not happen overnight and becoming healthy will not happen overnight - it is a process and I will hold on to the courage to continue with God's grace!

Pressing on,

Sherri