she's a runner.

This Sunday, I'm participating in the Wine Country Half Marathon Run/Walk.

Obviously, I'm doing the walk and not the run. The sheer thought of me running 13 miles (or um, even 3 miles?) is enough to make me laugh and cry. Even so - 13 miles walking (yes, 13-freaking-miles) is a large stretch of ground to cover.

I've never been the distance type person. I played sports for years and years (basketball, softball, soccer, volleyball) and stuck with basketball and soccer in high school. The former being my all-time favorite (and something that I love to this day) and we conditioned. But it was laps and sprints, those quick bursts of speed have always always always been what I prefer (and actually like--sometimes) but it didn't keep me from loving soccer too. Back in the day, when I was actually in shape, running 13 miles wasn't even something I'd have considered; let alone now.

So, why would I even consider trying to tackle something like this a week before the competition giving me a total of 7 days to gear myself and shock my body back into thinking I could do something like this?

That's a good question.

I like to be challenged. Always have, and always will. Couple that with the fact that when I tell someone that I'll do something - I always follow through. Auntie S (the person who I, when I'm not being a complete lazy ass, walk with anyway) brought it to my attention because she was doing it and thought that I would too It didn't start off as a challenge and I'm not doing it because I feel obligated, I want to do it. I want to challenge myself (mentally and, obviously, physically) to see if I can do this. It's been a long time since I've put myself to such a test and I really want to prove to myself that regardless of how old I feel sometimes, I haven't lost my touch completely.

It's going to be rough, I've completely accepted this fact by now (as well as the fact that I may or may not be able to walk the next day) but I've always worked best under pressure. I'm actually, getting excited about it now. After I got back from the practice death-march (as I so lovingly refer to them as) I felt really, really good. I had energy and I wasn't as completely drained like I thought I would be. Granted, it was only 3-4 miles but that was a good sign, to me at least. We're going to work up to it for the rest of this week, do a mini-walk on Saturday and then bust it out on Sunday. I don't care what place we finish...okay, I kind of do but that's just because I like winning, but as long as I finish will be good enough for me.

I'll be up bright and early Sunday morning armed with my iPod preloaded with a kick ass "marathon mix" (tentatively titled: "music to and walk to and die by"...I'm so funny!) and an awesome walking partner so - I can't wait!