What in the hell am I thinking?

I am not a runner. I'm just not. I work out 4-5 times a week and I'm in pretty decent shape at this point. I can do a 45-minute spinning class with no problems. I can swim for hours. (Ok, maybe not hours, but a long time.) I own the elliptical machine. But when it comes to running, I just can't do it.

Up until this point, I've been pretty ok with my inability to run. Yet for some reason, I just woke up one day last week and said "I think I'm going to try to become a runner." My dad went through a stage like this at one point too, I think, so I guess maybe it runs in the family. It might also be peer pressure: many of my friends ran the Missoula Marathon last year. While I admired their dedication and skill, I had absolutely no desire to join them. Until now.

So I've set a fairly lofty yet reachable goal for myself. I want to finish the half-marathon in this year's Missoula Marathon. The race is on July 11th. I have up until May 31st to register and pay the cheapest price. I think by then I'll know if this is an accomplishable goal or not. If I realize it's not, that's ok with me. I'm not going to force myself to do something that could cause an injury or other damage to my body or my psyche. But really, 13.1 miles isn't THAT far, is it?

So why am I blogging about my experiences? There's a myriad of reasons, really. I've been wanting to start a blog for a while but didn't feel like I had anything to talk about. But probably the biggest reason is that if I know my friends and family are reading this and cheering me on, it will hold me accountable to KEEP GOING!

So wish me luck, everyone, and keep checking back for updates on my progress and my thoughts about why anyone would ever want to do this.