I've allowed myself to be talked into training for a marathon. So that all of you who are not training for marathons may live vicariously through me, I've decided to keep a diary of my training experiences.
A bit about me: I have never been a runner. My past experience running consisted of chasing after my kids or the ice cream truck. I have one pair of tennis shoes which are almost ten years old and still have the original laces. I do not know if they are “runners” or “walkers.” I do know they are a cute shade of green and I really like that because in the unfortunate event I have to mow the lawn, the grass stains don’t show up. I can also do a mean impression of Baby from "Dirty Dancing" while vacuuming in them.
My first attempt at getting in shape came three months ago, when I began walking with my best friend and co-worker Stephanie before work every morning. I decided that now that I am 35, I might as well take up fitness. While I admit Stephanie is much more athletically blessed than me, I was incredibly proud of my three miles at a 45-minute pace.
How I became a marathoner-in-training is a whole other story.
The First Attempt at Talking Me Into a Marathon
Last week, my good friend Melissa stopped by work to chat with me and Stephanie. In the course of conversation, we casually invited Melissa to join us on our early morning walks. (This was a nice way for me to brag about my newly-adopted physical fitness). I should have known better. Not to be outdone, Melissa mentioned she was about to start training for a marathon and we should join her.While Stephanie and I nodded vigorously, whole-heartedly agreeing that training for a 26-mile marathon “sounded like fun,” and we would “definitely check it out,” Melissa jotted down the Website where we could sign up for training.
Now, those of you that know me well, will not be surprised to know that inside my head I was thinking how much I loved Melissa's top, and that there was no way in hell I was going to train for a marathon. I was still casually laughing and saying goodbye as I crumpled up the paper with the Website on it and promptly filed it where it belonged – in the trash can.
The Second Attempt -- This Time, It Works
Fast forward to this Tuesday. On our morning walk, Stephanie had the nerve to ask me (before most decent people are even awake, mind you) if I had checked out the Website yet.I said, “You mean, the ELF Website with cheap make-up?”
She laughed and said, “Nooooo … “.
I said, “Oh, you mean TMZ, home of the most trashy celeb stories ever?”
She said, “Nooooo … “.
Oh man, I thought to myself. She remembers that ridiculous marathon invitation. Thanks a lot, Melissa! Now, I am not one to marathon, but I am certainly not going to be the only one of us three not going either. After all, I was doing three miles and living, right?
I grumbled something about checking it out when we got into the office, completely intending to distract her later with a chocolate long john while I sneakily disabled the internet on her computer. I almost had my plan down to a tee, when she piped up with, “I checked it out last night, it was great! I really think we can do this. IT WILL CHANGE OUR LIVES!”
I said, “I like my life just the way it is, thanks.”
She didn’t give up. “Jen, come on! Look at you! You are the goddess of fit, the champion of nonbelievers, you'll be an inspiration to the masses.”
How could I argue with that?
Stephanie even chirped in that she would pay the $90 entry fee, which would have been my last resort for refusal. So, I agreed to do it. And this, my friends, is how I ended up this morning at AustinFit, training for the Austin Marathon instead of at Target shopping for a hip new muumuu.
Would I survive my first training session?
Jennifer Roesner lives outside Austin, Texas. She's training for her first marathon in February, 2008. Read part 2 of From Muumuus to Marathons to see if Jennifer passes the timed trial for the marathon.
