starting today.

A very happy Monday to you! If there was one surprising takeaway from the survey I posted last week,  it was that many of you wanted to hear more about my life. First things first, I was beyond flattered my life even matters to you. I assume with blogs that most people read because of pretty pictures or content, but your responses made me realize I should be giving you more of me. I'm starting today :)

In seventh grade, I knew I was going to be cut from the volleyball team, so rather than risk imminent failure, I decided to try something else: cross country. {Ball sports are not my forte. At all.} My first year, I was last at nearly every meet. It was frustrating beyond belief, but the sense of accomplishment for simply finishing a race was enough for me. I kept working at it--and came back the next year near the top of the roster. The hard work paid off for me in middle school and high school. Though I wasn't breaking any records, I found a certain solace in running--and an incredible circle of friends.

I made the decision not to run in college because I wanted a more "normal" collegiate experience--and because the schools I wanted to attend had much better programs than the D3 schools who recruited me. When I left for Georgetown, my running ended up on the back burner. At the end of my freshman year, I realized I needed to do a little soul searching and decided to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon. Truth be told, I loved every minute of training--even when it was incredibly hard. I got an ear infection the week of the race, but I finished {though not quite as quickly as I would have liked} and found my "rhythm" in the process.

Running became a bigger fixture in my life again after the marathon. It gave me time to think and get away from the craziness of college life. After graduation, I kept with it and ran a few ten-milers and half-marathons here and there. It wasn't until right around the time I started this blog that I decided it was time for another marathon. I signed up for a marathon in May 2011, knowing full well I'd be doing most of my training during a New England winter. The problem was that I picked the worst winter in ages to train, which relegated me to a treadmill for the entire month of January. {If you remember my lack of ball-handling skills, you'll understand I'm a huge klutz--which is a bad recipe with ice and snow.}

The month on the treadmill handed me a nasty setback: a severe tibia stress fracture--which meant no May marathon. I signed up for another in October, thinking I'd be recovered by then, only to be sidelined by a longer recovery. I managed a half-marathon last year {strangely, with a PR}, but somehow, by January, I felt that sneaky little pain in my lower right leg...and knew the injury was back.

I didn't {and haven't} talked about it much because I know so many people have much worse ailments than I do. Running helped me stay centered--and without it, I felt more than a little lost. My physical therapy this winter helped me regain my confidence enough to sign up for this October's Marine Corps Marathon. I started my training last week. I'm loving each and every run, but I'm also paying lots of attention to my body because I don't want to be sidelined again. I'm sharing this today because I know it will be a big part of my life in the next few months. 

Don't worry--I have no intention upon changing {long distance loving} into a running blog, though the name fits ;) As I push for that finish line in October, the quote above was a solid reminder to try to be better--in running, blogging, and life in general. If you've made it this far in the post, thank you! I promise shorter posts in the future, but this topic needed some explanation. I simply would love your thoughts and/or prayers as I try down this road again. Any tips would be welcome too! I am beyond grateful for readers like you...