"The Courage to Start"

For all of you that already read Leslie's post... she and I follow a very similar mileage schedule, so I won't retype that info, but I will echo, yes, this is our first week on a regimented training schedule and yes again, I am very excited to get moving in the right direction! I don't have any scheduled races before the Half Marathon in January, but I might sign myself up for something locally just to keep myself energized and excited!!!!

I don't know if any of you are members of the Runner's World quote of the day club, but I am and I highly recommend it. Here are three reasons why. Number One, it makes me feel cool because my blackberry buzzes at exactly 11:45pm every night with a new motivational running quote, but silly me thinks that someone is actually trying to get in touch with me. This means if I'm in a public setting, I look so important getting an urgent late night message. Number Two, I have archived all of the emails and I'm going to spam my dad with them (sending one every 15 minutes for the next 6 years) if I get one more forward of a bunch of dogs prancing around in Halloween costumes. Just kidding Dad, if you're reading this, I love those forwards and I really think you should go with the bumblebee costume for Coco this year! And finally Number Three, today's quote was from John Bingham who wrote an awesome book (Les recommended this book to me) called The Courage to Start.

Runner's World chose to quote John directly from the book when he said, "Everything changed the day I understood that if I was to become a runner, I would have to run with the body I had." After I read that quote a million different thoughts ran through my head. Here are a few of them:

• I need to work around the issues that exist within my body presently... (ie. Christine, don't bail on running because of your bad knees, be gentle to them and wear knee bands to support the joint and compensate for the weakness. *NOTE: I never have to be told "Don't run if you are hurting," because believe me, I have no problems taking days off! However, for those of you that push through, I am NOT condoning running in pain, see your doctor if you don't know what's causing your aches!)
• I won't have the body of a marathoner unless I'm actually running marathons... (ie. Christine, don't skip exercise all-together just because your body isn't in tip-top shape, you have to work hard to get it to that level and you need to start somewhere, right?!)
• I need to find some flattering running gear... (ie. Christine, you can't borrow Marisa Miller's legs to run the Phoenix Half... you're going to have to use your own! So in conjunction with a pretty intense running schedule and some very flattering workout gear (both Lululemon and Lucy are having sales right now), I will be good to go!

So to sum it all up, I think John wants us to know that we each have a body that needs to be challenged regularly. However, once your body reaches a distinct level of laziness, the new "challenge" is to work with your body as is until you have "earned" a stronger, leaner and healthier body for the future. At least that's how I understood the quote. If anyone disagrees or has something to add, feel free to comment! I'd love to know what everyone else thinks!

Lastly, I linked the Lululemon and Lucy sites above, but there are tons of other great yoga/running gear sites and I love online shopping so I'd love to hear where everyone else is buying their workout loot! I found the Chic Runner's blog and she does an amazing job of organizing dozens of different online shopping spots all on one page and even distinguishes which places are having sales! Kudos to you, chic runner!

Alright, its time for a handful of chocolate chips, a big big big glass of water, and my bed!

xo, c