Hi. My name is Anthea Jane. I am a 27 year old mommy to an 18 month old baby boy, a wife, and part time graduate student and an employee.
A couple of different things lead me to the decision to train to run a marathon. Several weeks ago a good friend of ours left for Uganda to serve for two years in the Peace Corps. I felt mixed feelings that I didn't expect to feel. One was pride in my friend, it isn't easy to be accepted into the Peace Corps program. One of the pictures posted on his face book page was an invitation from the White House to serve abroad. I have always known my friend was a really great guy, but his ability to examine his life and "go to the woods" as Thoreau would say, made a strong impression. How many people plod through life without much thought or self examination? How many people live the lives they really want to live? How many people are brave enough to leave the rut of their mediocre existences and pursue interesting, varied lives?
Another emotion that surfaced was envy. An immature emotion, not one I am really proud of. I have so much to be thankful for. I love my life, I really do. I love my husband, I love my little boy, I love my family. We have our youth, our health, a roof over our heads, food on the table, a 401(k). We aren't rich, but we certainly have enough.
The only thing in the world I don't have is the freedom to disappear off to Uganda for two years, which sounds pretty glamorous and exiting to me. I can't even take off for six months to hike the Appalachian trail which has always been a dream of mine.
My aunt knew about my dream to hike the Appalachian and mailed me a book from the U.K called To the Woods, A Journey along the Appalachian Trail. The book is written by a friend of hers named John Scott, who is in fact, Scottish. Scott hiked the Appalachian Trail to mark his upcoming 40th birthday by doing something that was: "significant, demanding and at a distance from home; to test my capacity for pushing mental and physical limits well beyond any point experienced to date; and to mark this keen moment in my life." This book and his references to Thoreau's Walden's Pond made quite an impression on me.
I have always been a bit of a thrill seeker, one of the most exciting moments of my life was when I went tandem bridge swinging off the second highest bungee jumping bridge in Africa when I was 16. It is basically like bungee jumping, except the rope is tied around your torso and attached to a bridge parallel from the one you jumped off of, and I had my best friend Tessa attached to me. My husband and I had the incredible opportunity to hike across Europe before we got engaged. One of the best days of my life was canyoning in Interlaken, Switzerland, an extreme sport so dangerous that it is illegal here in the US. It was exhilarating.
Life has changed. I can't travel to exotic countries for months at a time now, and I can't take stupid risks like sliding down a rock wall into a freezing pond in a ravine. Life is extremely hemmed in, sober and safe, full of bottles, diapers, trips to the pediatrician and lots of laundry. Like many young mothers, I think I am starting to go slightly stir crazy. Boredom, feelings of stagnation, and the 30 extra pounds I am lugging around are quite strong motivators to do something to change how I feel.
I know that training for a marathon won't give me the temporary high of an extreme sport, or the excitement of leaving it all behind to go surfing in Bali, but I simply need the challenge, and the sense of satisfaction from conquering something difficult and worthwhile. The resulting toned legs and buttocks will be a nice perk too!
The idea is to train, and take no longer than a year to accomplish my goal. I will set mini goals which will include but not be limited to: a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon, and then the final big finale, a full marathon. A full marathon run in Hawaii would be a nice way to top off this project. I have no clue what.so.ever. how to train for a marathon, so I will blog along the way about what I learn.
Thanks for reading. Wish me luck, I am sure as hell going to need it.
