what i've been up to

I know I've been a slacker (on posting!) again. To make it up to you, here's an extra post for today.

The day after my 9.5 mile run I did a 5K walk - why, you ask? Well, because I'm crazy. No really, sort of. I participated in the 20th Annual Walk for Hope. The walk benefits the Foundation of Hope, an organization with the following mission statement: "To promote scientific research aimed at discovering the causes and potential cures for mental illness in order to develop a more effective means of treatment. Additionally, the Foundation is committed to raising community awareness and supporting effective treatment programs." I've wanted to participate for a couple of years now, but the timing never worked out. It's a cause that is very near and dear to me (for reasons which I may go into eventually) and I'm glad that we were able to take part.

The walk was officially a 10K, but you had the option of turning around at the halfway point to make it a 5K. We (D & I) planned on doing the full 10K, but I was still so sore and exhausted from my run the day before that we had to cut it short. I was OK with that, but I wasn't OK with being just a walker. I think I can really classify myself as a runner now because I was SO JEALOUS of the the people who were running the event as a 10K! I just have to sit and shake my head at myself because that is never something that I thought I would say. It is still kind of unbelievable to me that I have gotten this far with my running. The night before the walk, also the night after my craptastic 9.5 mile run, I told D that I was definitely going to run a marathon. There may or may not have been margaritas involved :-) But I have no doubt that I will run a marathon one day. Running has given me so much self-confidence that I've never had before. (That sounds so super lame, but it's true.) That also brings me back to the crazy - I think running has helped me with a lot of my "issues" and I will always be thankful for that.