On the Road Again!

As of last night, it's official!  I am off and running--no pun intended--for the Huntville, Alabama 'Rocket City Marathon'.  Saturday, December 14, 2013.  Yeah, I know.  Right in the middle of the crazy, holiday season.  Yet, let's just run down the list of why I can't not do this:

1. Because I'm crazy.  No, let me restate that.  When I don't run, I'm crazy.  100% bonafide nutso.  
2. I don't have time for it.  Yet, how can I not make time for it???  If running keeps me sane and stable, then it's a must-do.  And I'm never going to have time for it.  So I might as well just trudge ahead and, as Nike would say, 'Just Do It'. 
3. My whole world functions better when I have well-defined goals.  The times in the past when I've been on a training schedule for a race, it seems like the rest of my life stays focused.  Yet, when I'm out there running with no purpose, my life seems to go in that direction too.  I don't know why this is so, it just is.
4. My favorite time of the year to train for a race is the fall.
5. Huntsville is flat and fast.  Perfect for trying to --no, I can't even speak it out loud.
6. It's December 14, right after Thanksgiving and right before Christmas...that time of the year when I'm usually on an eating marathon.  Thought it might be a good idea to replace it with this :)
7. When someone in our family trains for something big, it brings us together in a fun way.  Weird, I know. 
8. Some of my sweetest times with God is when I run.  I can't wait to spend more time with Him.
9. I feel a little less than par these days at 43.  Decided it's time to kick my age in the butt and defy all kinds of odds.
10. I've just got this weird itching to do one, that's all.

Looking forward to what God wants to teach me through the treacherous, long runs ahead.  As I pound the pavement, I'm sure He'll pound and form my heart in new ways.  He'll shape through the hurt...you know that good-kind-of-satisfying-hurt.

So, it's official.  Wish me luck!  And pray for my not so young body--especially the knees.  and feet.

P.S.  Did I mention that I'm also doing one so that I can get Eric to buy me a new pair of running shoes?