Commitment Issues

Dude, it's clear that I have commitment issues. I cannot even keep my shit together for more than a month at a time. Somewhere in between the trip to Washington and back to Arizona I lost all of the organizational skills that I used to pride myself on.

Here's the latest;

• Completed New York. Felt like I was going to die and it took everything in me to finish.
• Still running and am now swimming two or three times a week. OK, really two times a week. OK, really at least once a week.
• Started a new job. Woah.
• Started the process of getting my PMP. Woah.
• We are in the new house and it's really fucking expensive to have two houses. I don't know if you knew that, but if you didn't, you heard it here first.
• Being part of a family is hard.
• Because we are irresponsible and terrible people, we have decided to maybe possibly think about having a baby. So that's half a step past the negotiations that we've been having for the last 7 years. Keep tuned in for the next 3 years, because my god! We might actually do something about it!
• Both brothers have girlfriends and have had them for awhile. I'm still coping.
• I'm down to one brother within 25 miles and a little sad about it.
• I have discovered a love for turkey hot dogs that I never knew I had. Please don't tell Hippy, my new vegetarian and fuzzy feeling friend.
• Also new to the friends list, Fitz. He's pretty much awesome too.

Ready! Set! Go!

It's now July, the official time frame that we had discussed to start training for New York. It's suppose to hit close to 120 here this week as well, which means that we're meeting at 4:30, running at 4:45pm. Summertime is a bitch, but I'm committed now. I've purchased air tickets, and we're working on a place to stay. Plus, I've committed to Team For Kids, in order to be able to run. Go! Go! Go!

Marathon Followup

OK, as promised, the marathon stuff.

• How much I love being around runners
• I love being around runners, because no matter what they're doing in the rest of their life, they still share runner traits. Runners will think it's no big deal to pee in a bush because you're running and don't have the time to find a real bathroom. (And what's more real than a naturriffic bathroom anyway?) Runners obsess over the same things, understand chafing so much that you bleed, can sympathize when you have more blisters than toes, can appreciate the dedication it sometimes takes to get out the door, and most of all, they know why it makes sense to run when you're sore. I could go on and on, but I think you get it.
  
• The Jesus Freaks in the first 4 miles
• We took off in 29 degree weather, which was ridiculous because the marathon is in Phoenix for cripes sake, (and since when is it 29 degrees in Phoenix?) and right around the first mile marker there is a young blond woman holding a 3' by 4' sign that had something about Jesus on it screaming about how Jesus is the only way, that we should not be tempted because Satan is everywhere and we will go to HELL! Understandably, we continue running. Around the second mile, there was an older man holding a 3' by 4' sign with the same Jesus type messages and he was screaming essentially the same things. There was another young man sometime before the 4 mile mark, and his sign said something about Jesus and how religion and church don't matter, and he was screaming that we can only find salvation through Jesus, and if we didn't we would be going to hell. One of the runners in front of me turns to her partner and says, "At least it'll be warm there." Apparently the Jesus Freaks need a lesson in knowing their audience. People about to slog through 26.2 miles in freezing weather are not looking to be saved.
  
• Team In Training
• Is awesome! They had about a zillion coaches and friends and family members on the sidelines pretty much the whole way, and this really lent a positive mood to the whole event. I don't know what their success rate is, but anybody interested in training for a marathon who wants outside support should check them out.
  
• Rebellious legs
• I am fairly strong. I have run until I threw up, run until I got dizzy, run until I needed to sleep. I have never run until my legs wouldn't run anymore. I reached that point at about 21 miles on Sunday. My mind was in it, I was in it, I was tired but it was OK, I was sore, but it was OK, my feet hurt, but it was OK, I only had 5.2 miles left and I was going to make it. But my legs didn't want to move. I physically could not go any faster than I was going, which was getting progressively slower. Worst sensation ever.
  
• Not being able to walk right
• I could barely walk on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday was a bit better, and today isn't better yet, but maybe it will be. See above.
  
• How awesome our SAG Team is
• We would not have been able to complete our marathon without our awesome support crew. They did a fabulous job being where they were supposed to be and giving us our Gu or water or Gatorade or whatever. Thank you to all.