On your mark...

So this blog has set vacant for almost a year. See, I got this idea in January of last year (2007). I was having lunch with some co-workers when one of them mentioned that he was planning on running a marathon later that year. He was turning 40 within the next year and wanted to run the full 26.2 miles before that. I thought that was a great idea. At the time, I was a few months shy of my 37th birthday (to do the math, I turn 40 in 2010). My thinking was that, with nearly 3 years to go, surely I could do a marathon before them. I had run a little bit before that. I had completed a 5k and was running a little bit on a treadmill to lose some weight.
I got off to a decent start. I ran a couple of more 5ks, and got off the treadmill and started running outdoors. In May 2007, I had the idea to run in my first 10k when I had my first running "injury". I woke up one morning in May with both of my ankles swollen and I could hardly walk. After 3 doctor visits and numerous tests, no one was any closer to giving me a diagnosis as to what was happening. A couple of weeks later, my ankles were back to normal, but the damage had been done. Falling off the wagon, I ran one more 5K in 2007 and then hung up my shoes for the rest of the year.
Late in 2007, a friend suggested that maybe the $30 pair of running shoes (bought at a Nike outlet in Nashville) I had been using might have been to blame. I bought a nicer pair of Brooks running shoes, but they still sat in my closet for a couple of months.
January of this year came around and out came the new year's resolution of, once again, committing to getting in shape. This time, armed with new shoes, the running commenced. I ran in 3 5Ks in the first part of the year and ran my first 10K. Running soon took a smaller backseat and I didn't run in races for a while.
About 4 months ago, a former high school classmate contacted my through Facebook. He was into running and wanted to know if I wanted to start running with him. So almost every Tuesday and Thursday morning, we have been meeting at 6AM and running about 4 miles.
Last week, my wife and I attended an interest meeting for the group "Team in Training", a group that trains people to participate in endurance events, one of which is the Country Music Marathon in Nashville on April 25, 2009. While my wife, Sarah, wanted to sign up for the half-marathon, I wasn't going to sign up. But after thinking about it, it would be a shame for her to go through this by herself, so I signed up as well... to run the full marathon.
There it is, the date and event have been set for me... April 25, 2009 -- Nashville, TN... 26.2 miles.
Over the next 5 months, I'm going to journal my progress. I've never been good at doing this sort of thing, and I've never blogged before.

So hopefully, I'll keep this entertaining and hope that if you stop by you'll consider finding out more about Team in Training and consider helping me reach my fund raising goal by visiting My Team in Training Page to help against blood cancers.