So How's the Running Coming Along??

Well, let's just say....it's coming along.  Slowly, very slowly.    I am currently up to 7 miles. That's right people, 7 miles!!!!  In my little world, that is A LOT.  However, I've still got a long way to go......figuratively and literally! 7 miles is not 26.2 miles....if you know what I mean.

When I started running back in March, I could run about 2 houses down the street.  Seriously, I could barely finish a mile around the High School track.  I am not a natural runner by any means.  I think my body naturally wants to walk, sit, or even lay down....but run, not really, not so much.

So, that leads me to why am I doing this.   That's usually the second question I get asked....right after question #1, which if you remember, is 

#1 "Do you know how long a marathon is?" 

(Go HERE for my answer.)

#2 "Why do you want to run a marathon?"

Well, it's on my list.  My OLT List.  What is OLT you ask? Once in a LifeTime.  Funny thing is that just this week I just watched the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman (love him, by the way.)  My OLT List is kind of like a Bucket List.  I started my list when I turned 40 ...it's basically things that I want to accomplish or do in my life.  I read somewhere that only 1% of the people in the world can say that they've run a marathon....that intrigued me. 

So, I know you're dying to know.....what else is on my OLT List???

1.  Go back to Hawaii  (Did that but, I still want to go again....can you ever get enough?)

2.  Go to Alaska.

3.  See all 50 states....I've been to about 45.

4.  Write and publish a book.

5.  Run a Marathon.

6.  Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride.

7.  Go on a Helicopter Ride.  (Did this...it was scary, but cool.)

8. Go Sky Diving.....Jump out of an Airplane.

9.  Go Rock Climbing.

10.  See the Pyramids in Egypt.

11.  Go to Europe....Italy, France, England, Germany.

There's more....but I think you get the idea.

The key phrase here is Once in LifeTime.....Once.  I want to do it and check it off.  I'm not trying to become the next Bruce Jenner.  Don't worry, all of you real athletes, I'm no threat to you. I'm sure that after October 26th I'll be back to my usual routine at the gym, 20 minutes on the eliptical machine.  I can't see me sticking with the running thing long term.  Many, many days I say to myself, "You should've done the Hot Air Balloon ride....and skipped right over running a marathon!"

Something many of you guys might not know about me is that when I was younger (11 years old) I was diagnosed with a bone tumor in my left thigh.  I had surgery to have it removed.  The recovery took a couple of months, but then all seemed well. Unfortunately, that was short lived.  The doctor didn't get all of the tumor and it grew back.  So, the following year (6th grade) I had to have a second operation.  This time they got all of the tumor, but in order to do so, they had to remove a huge piece of my bone.  This time the recovery took about a year and a half.  That's right....a year and a half....from the end of 6th grade to the middle of 8th grade. During that time I had a body cast for the first few months....a cast from my toe to my waist. When the cast came off I had to use crutches and then even worse, a metal brace.  The brace was metal with leather straps.  It had hinges that would squeek, at the ankle, knee, and hip. It was attached to my shoe.  It looked exactly like the leg braces in Forrest Gump that he ran out of.  I hated it. I'm sure you can imagine what it was like having to wear that during Junior High.  

(By the way, for all you young people, Junior High is what Middle School used to be called, back in the 'Old Days')

Surprisingly, most kids were very nice to me during that time. I had lots of close friends that stayed by my side and I actually made tons of new friends.  I can't explain why, you'd think I would've been an outcast...but I wasn't.  God was good to me.

That period of my life has shaped me in many ways.  It grew me up quickly.  If you know what I mean.  I was wise and a deep thinker after that....a 30 year old in an 11 year old body.   That operation and long recovery was totally worth it, the tumor never came back.

So, for me to be able run in a marathon is pretty cool.

This post is way longer than I intended.  Sorry about that. I will keep you posted on the running....there's more to come.