Making It Work

When I got into the Chicago Marathon last year I knew that training was going to be intense. I knew that I wanted the experience to be drastically different from my first. Let's face it, the first one was awful. We didn't train properly (I don't ever recommend that) and in some ways I took the experience for granted. 

However, now my situation is completely different. Not only do I have a husband that is going to be working insane hours again but I have a daughter that requires most of my attention during the day. I can't just run out the door whenever the mood strikes me to take care of my training run for that day. Obviously, if I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, E will go in her stroller and off we go, but I want to avoid that if I can. I have to really plan and that is going to be the one thing that takes the most dedication. I have to be willing to get up early in the morning or go later in the evening. I am thankful that Kyle is okay with taking care of E's bedtime routine so I can focus on training.  

I sat down yesterday and mapped out my training plan, it was almost daunting doing that. Once I started going over it, I got really excited. Training isn't easy, pulling yourself out of bed early in the morning is not the most fun thing to do but gosh lacing up those shoes and hitting the pavement is exhilarating. 

I'm not going to lie I was really unsure if I could make this work given Kyle's work schedule but he assured me that my training won't suffer, as an athlete who is working towards something pretty significant, that is huge. I also know that I can't let training negatively impact my family life, so there has to be a balance and once we get into a routine I'm confident that all will be okay. 

I am looking forward to this challenge again. I know that it's going to be hard, there are going to be days where I want to give up, but to me that's just not an option.  I will conquer those 26.2 miles and I will do it the best I can in that moment. 

Training begins today and I'm ready! I'm looking forward to sharing this endeavor with you all.