It's official! The Chicago Marathon will be my First Full!

Well, I have been praying, talking, and debating about my next major running milestone for 2012 (now that I have met the Disney Half Marathon challenge with success). And today, I have finalized my decision. I have decided that my first Full Marathon -- all 26.2 miles of it -- will be the Chicago Marathon, a signature race with a long, prestigious, and international reputation/history.

I am very excited, and definitely nervous, about this new goal! Excited because it is the Chicago Marathon and I get to have my first experience at that distance in my hometown, the city of my birth. Nervous because running a marathon is a very different level of commitment, physical & mental effort, and preparation process than what I did for the Half Marathon. Not to say that I doubt I can do it because I believe that I can do it. I am at a good starting point fitness-wise to begin preparing, and I have enough time to do that preparation. But even with that, the idea of running for 26.2 miles is still a daunting one.

This will be a great challenge. And all the training runs, races, and gym workouts that I do between now and October 7th will all be part of my overall training plan to get myself ready -- physically, mentally, and spiritually. And the support from friends and family will be an important part of that process as well.

Many people say that crossing the finish line of your first Marathon will change your life forever. I can't wait to know what that will mean for me. They also say 'dream big or go home'. So I choose to Dream BIG!

On the Treadmill...And it felt so good!

Last week was a rarity: no workouts and no running for the whole week. By the end of the week, I was feeling jealous of all my friends who were posting about how their exercising was going. I realized that while getting up 'after' the sunrise was nice, I really 'missed' my run routine. Imagine that!

Today marked my first run in 10 days! And it felt so good! Perhaps it was because I gave my body a rest and a chance to focus on restoration. Perhaps it was because the short 'break' allowed my mind to appreciate the activity again. All I know is, I went to LifeTime, got dressed in my shorts, tech shirt, and shoes, activated my Polar watch, and away I went!

I listened to my workout playlist as I started out. I started with a five-minute brisk walk to warm up the legs and get a breathing rhythm going. Then I sped up to a 10:40/mm pace and started the run. The music was in my ears and the running felt effortless. The legs really wanted to go, and my breathing was in sync. So I just went along for the ride.

At some point after the second mile, I was found myself smiling! So I picked up the pace, increasing to a 9:30/mm pace, and it felt so smooth. At that speed, my heart rate was in Zone 3 and still, I felt like I could keep that pace up for a while. I was so in the groove!

Then I looked up at a clock and realized it was passed the time I had to stop (I had to shower and get to work). How disappointing! I ran for 3.77 miles but I think I could have gone for another 3 miles easily. I was late so I didn't take my usual five-minute cooldown, nor did I do any post-run stretching. (Not a good thing to skip by the way)

So, I showered, dressed, got a protein shake 'mix-in' from the LifeCafe (I bring my own whey protein), and headed into the office. Last night, I received a package from the Half Fanatics containing my HF singlet, jacket, and running cap. Very cool! So I decided to wear the jacket to work today. Not going to lie... I was pretty proud to wear the colors of the HF!

Speaking of the HF, I found a race in July (in Hoffman Estates) that I might want to run. It comes the day before the Rock-n-Roll Chicago Half, and if I finish both races I could move up to the Four Moon level in the Fanatics. The only problem is that Mike and I have friends from my W.I.S.H. Running Team coming from Canada to visit that same weekend, and I would rather spend time with them than run two races (and deal with recovery instead of having fun with them_. So I probably won't sign up for it. Guess I have to find another back-to-back Half weekend sometime in the late Fall (after the Chicago Marathon). Moving up to 4 Moons is not critical to my goals for 2012, but if I can fold it into my overall training schedule, it would be special.

And speaking of the Chicago Marathon, registration for that race opens tomorrow at Noon!!! A co-worker is thinking of signing up which is awesome! I was thinking of registering for it over the weekend. I hope registration doesn't close before then (last year it filled up after three weeks)! I wonder how many WISHers might be running the race (it would be cool to run with them).