and the award for "World's Worst Blogger" goes to...

I guess it's been a while, but here I am...better late than never, right??  Without getting into the gory details, let me just say that it's been a hell of a year.  I'm not really going to dwell on my weight-loss failures over the past year.  Instead, I choose to acknowledge that I am about 60 pounds lighter than I was before my surgery.  Nowhere near my goal, but I am focused, recommitted, and back on track!

If you look at the top of my page, you will see a new countdown.  I have made the bold commitment of racing in the Salt Lake Marathon...not the full 26.2, but I am bound and determined to be ready for the half (13.1 miles).  It is on April 21, 2012.  If you have ever stood at the finish line of a marathon, you know it is one of the most inspiring things to witness.  Watching someone that has just completed a 26.2 mile run is quite emotional.  As I was watching finishers at the St George Marathon on my birthday this year, I decided I wanted to experience that emotion and accomplishment for myself.  Maybe one day I will be ready to run a full Marathon, but I am happy with my goal of completing the half.

I am NOT a runner.  I have NEVER been a runner.  Even when I was swimming 11 times a week in high school, I couldn't run.  So how does a fatty like me, who hates running, begin to train for this?  I kind of developed my own training plan, combining the Couch to 5K beginner program with Hal Higdon's half marathon training.  I have just finished week 2 of the C25K, and I can already feel it getting easier.  I have every day of the next 20 weeks planned as far as workouts go, with practically no room for missing a workout.  While working on the C25K program, a typical week goes like this:  Running three days a week-Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.  Pilates on Monday and Wednesday, Swimming on Sundays, and Friday is my rest day...gotta have the rest day on Friday!

My goal with blogging is to AT LEAST do it once a week, but hopefully more after the holidays.  I want to be held accountable for my actions, and if I am blogging my successes (and failures), I think I will be more likely to stick to this program.  I hope you will all enjoy reading about my journey.

If anyone would like a copy of my exact training schedule, leave me a comment.  Also, I hope to not run this thing alone, so if anyone wants to run with me, and isn't too concerned about their finishing time, I will need all the support I can get!