Determined not to let my current land-locked state hinder me, I have set off to cross another item off my bucket list.
The challenge: a half marathon. In eight weeks.
Being back in Indiana, far away from my little island has certainly taken its toll. For the most part, I am thankful to be home and I am really thankful to be closer to my family, but there is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t find myself looking wistfully out the window hoping it will be blue ocean I see instead of traffic. I know coming home was the right decision, but it has been a pretty stressful transition and I have definitely thought multiple times about getting on a plane and going back. So the stress levels have been high and after finally getting settled into an apartment (three months after arriving home), I knew I needed to do something to keep myself from breaking down.
After some prodding from friends, I was finally convinced to tackle the half. Its something that I have wanted to do for a while, but kept coming up with reasons why I would not be able to complete it and failure is not an option in my world. But after the fourth person asked me to run it, I gave in and found a training program that I felt I could finish. It is not quite as running intensive as some other ones I had researched and so far the knees and hips are doing great. I ran four miles Saturday and felt great! Monday a friend and I started week #2 off with a great 2.5 mile run and this morning I got up at 5:30 to train for thirty minutes before work. And of course, while the stress of life has not decreased, my emotional ability to handle it has increased. I am happier, I sleep better, and I am slowing learning to enjoy life here in Indiana. Not to mention, e-mail and Skype keep me in close contact with the reasons I miss Saipan the most!
So bring on the training, the sore legs, and hopefully the ultimate feeling of accomplishment. 1 week down, 7 to go!
