Step 5: Tell Everyone You Know

I find it comical that when I first considered writing this post, this clip from “The Wedding Singer” popped into my head:

You Spin Me Right Round (Unfortunately I cannot insert the video!)

So why did this clip pop into my head?  Because I’ve been here before.  I’m back at the beginning of my never-ending circle. 

But, before I even started reading The Nonrunner’s Marathon Guide for Women by Dawn Dais, I had signed up for a half marathon in South Carolina.  It’s in December; five and a half months away.  It’s on Kiawah Island; a place that has quickly become one of my favorite places to sleep overnight thanks to a dear friend and her condo.

To be able to successfully complete a half marathon (which, believe it or not, I have done before in Des Moines), one needs to train.  To train, one needs to want to do it.  One needs to make the decision to do it.

Back to that record.  Did you read that I’ve already run a half marathon?  That’s because I did.  In fact, I very slowly jogged the last few miles simply because I knew if I stopped jogging/running, I wouldn’t be able to start again.  But I did it.  And then I stopped.  I stopped running.  I stopped. 

There are questions that I can’t answer like, “Why now?”  I don’t know.  I guess today is as good as any.  “Why at all?”  Well, I guess, why not?  Regardless, having already signed up for the half, I knew I needed to start training again (that’s a different story for a different day).  As I was preparing to leave for Jury Duty yesterday, Adam told me to bring a book.  The one mentioned above was sitting on my desk.  Why not?  I started to read it, and it’s a great book for me to read because it is as sarcastic as it is not, it is straight and real.

Now remember, I’ve already made the decision, so chapter one was a little “late” to be reading, but it had some really good thoughts/advice, and Step 5 is, “Tell Everyone You Know.”  The reasons why make me crack up like, “Frankly, when you start to feel weak and sad and sore and broken, it’s easier to just keep going than to try to explain why you quit.”  So here I am, telling everyone I know.

My real goal?  To break the record.  To stop spinning around.  At one point when I thought to write this blog post tonight, I was going to get super personal and down right emptying of myself, but I no longer feel the need.  Telling you is enough.  I will, perhaps, save the rest for another day.

Erin

ps.  I’m running a half marathon in December.