First Set of Resolutions

Resolution # 1: Get Off the Couch.

I wish I had trained for a marathon before I ever had a baby. I never imagined how difficult it would be physically to carry, birth and care for this little boy. The first six weeks of his life I didn’t sleep and feel like I never recovered! My neck hurts, my joints ache like an eighty year old woman’s, and my energy levels are at an all time low. I am so tired of feeling sick and tired. I have a new found respect for my mom and dad, who raised four children including one severely disabled autistic child. In fact, I sincerely look at every mother with a new sense of compassion and respect.

I don’t know how much of my extreme fatigue has to do with physical health and how much of it has to do with the demanding job of raising a rambunctious toddler, working on my Masters, taking care of a house and a husband, cooking for my family every night and working part time. On top of all of this, my child has had an ear infection for three months that won’t go away. Having a sick kid makes life a wee bit stressful sometimes. I went for a full physical in January, and my doctor says that I am actually quite healthy. I just feel lousy. I am sleeping poorly, I grind my teeth in my sleep, and I run out of steam very quickly.

As I mentioned in my very first post, I plan to break up my marathon into intermediary goals. The first goal is to run a 5k (approximately 3 miles) in about nine weeks time. I have signed up for the Gibson Guitar 5k in June. I am going to use the C25K application on my iphone to train for it. It is an awesome application. It is a nine week long, 3 times a week training program that promises to take you from the couch to a comfortable 5k. It plays your own music in the background and a soothing male voice tells you exactly when to warm up, run, walk and cool down. I went for my first run on Saturday, and needless to say I am in quite bad shape.

Resolution # 2: 30 day Shred

I will be alternating running days with Jillian Michael's 30 day shred video. I have done it in the past and it is quite effective. I have printed out a calendar for the next three months and I will sign off when I run C25K, and on days I do Jullian's workout on Mondays - Saturdays. It is an easy, effective way to stay organized and keep track of when I need to move on to the next level.

Resolution # 3:  A little Yoga

I am MAJOR stress and anxiety issues. I am absolutely horrible at managing it. Just having a toddler with an ear infection sends me into a major tailspin. Yoga is known for it's stress reducing benefits, and should be a nice compliment to any other joint pounding exercise that I do. I did some tonight and I certainly felt much better afterwards. Yoga will be scheduled in every Sunday.

Resolution # 4: No alcohol till the Wedding Anniversary (May 24th) ...

...or caffeine, or sugar, or refined carbs. This one is probably going to be the toughest. I am not typically a fan of draconian diets, or broadcasting the fact to the world that I am on one. But I am doing this for good reason. I have felt so tired, and so ill lately, that I am quite desperate to do ANYTHING to feel good again. I can't give it my all as a mommy when I am not feeling myself. I think that no matter what your nutritional beliefs are, you can agree that cutting out/ reducing these four items in your diet won't hurt and might just benefit you a little. The wedding anniversary night, however, all bets are off. Oh yes, I will indulge in a little champagne and chocolate.

Resolution #5: Get edumacated

Subscribe to Runners World magazine, read other marathon blogs, read, read, read. I have no idea what training for a marathon entails and I need to learn pronto if I am going to make my goal in a year's time.

Hi, I'm Anthea. Nice to meet you.

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.