If you follow my blog, you'll know that I spent the last four months training for the Oshkosh Half Marathon. Finally, this past Sunday all the sweat, sore muscles and throbbing feet paid off. It felt so good to complete something most people view moderately difficult.
Now I'm a people-watcher to begin with but hanging out at the start line at 6:45 a.m. on Sunday morning was pretty interesting. I could go on and on about the array of characters I saw but I want to cut right to the point: Did you know that running in an organized race is an amazing opportunity to get a message out to a large audience by advertising on your back!? I wish I would've taken photos of these people. I had my phone with me but was having some difficulty with my new arm band and didn't want to take it out of its case for fear that the race was going to start while I was trying to take the picture and it would throw off my chi.
 Anyway, you name it and I saw it. Call me naive but I thought my sister and I were the only ones smart enough to put messages on our backs! Vicki is one of the coaches for a new all-star cheerleading team, the Elite Oshkosh Knights (@EliteOK) and she used her back to promote her team. I was raising awareness of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), specifically for a young family in Fond du Lac who has a nine-month-old named Lucy with type 1 SMA. Barb Zahn, the mother, is running a campaign to raise $10,000 by Lucy's first birthday in July.
I met the Zahn's through a Facebook friend and just happened to click on a video link about Lucy from my friend's status update. Words cannot describe how this video affected me. Lucy is about five weeks older than my Claire and struggling with a disease that no child or adult for that matter should have to struggle with. Although I've never met the Zahn's personally, I am compelled to do whatever I can to help them. 
So, you guessed it. My husband and I trotted out to the starting line on Sunday morning with a message pinned to our backs: We love Lucy Zahn! Help fight SMA. www.toshaveornottoshave.com. Although we weren't original, we were hopeful. Hopeful that someone might see our message, remember it and take action. For Lucy.

 
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Since I announced to the world that I would be training for a half marathon, I thought the least I could do is update you on how the training is going: H-A-R-D!

I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty tough. The actual running isn't hard because you gradually work yourself into long distances but finding the time to commit to the run is the difficult part.

On a regular training week I spend the shorter runs in Albee on my lunch hour and when I have to do a longer run I'll usually do those on the treadmill at home. The weather has been pretty bitter lately otherwise I would run outside, too.  Once or twice a week I also incorporate a 30 minute cross-training exercise like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred or Crunch Fitness Burn & Firm Pilates.

Some days I dread working out and wish I could just plop myself in front of the TV and watch The Office until my eyeballs melt out of their sockets. But then I remember how good it makes me feel and I just do it.

Stay tuned for further training developments. Until then, it's status quo.