One Year Anniversary

About one year ago I made one of the scariest but best decisions that have ever come across my plate. I bought a house. I have been in the business of real estate since I was 15 years old and have helped countless individuals purchase houses, but it was completely different when it was me. I found the perfect house that I could put my own little touches in it. I am so blessed to be able to call this home on Hamlin Way mine. It was the best graduation present ever!

One of the many great things I love about my neighborhood are the sidewalks. There are many areas in Lawrenceburg that do not have sidewalks, but I am fortunate to be able to run around town without having to dodge cars. I can go from my house all the way down Main Street being on the road only a few feet. Every now and then I meet a fellow runner or pedestrian walking his or her dog, but most of the time it's just me out there with cars whizzing by me.

The fall marathon training has begun. I have set my goal to run the Louisville Marathon on October 19th. I have never run a full marathon before. I am excited and challenged to run 26.2 miles. It is said that the half way point in a marathon is at mile 20. This is because the last 6.2 miles seem like an eternity. It is usually when your body runs out of fuel and you have to dig deep within yourself to finish. There is something exhilarating about taking your body the brink of true exhaustion and conquering the "wall" to finish such an undertaking.

I am following a training plan designed by marathon legend Hal Higdon. It is an 18 week plan consisting of 5 days running, 1 day cross training, and 2 days of rest. This week was the start of the schedule. Every Saturday I have my long run that varies from 6 miles to 20 miles. I started with my 6 mile run yesterday. It was a fairly cool day around 80 degrees for the summer. So, I thought I would go out around 4:30 pm and get my six miles in. Once I got started, I realized 80 degrees is a whole lot warmer runner than just lounging outside. It didn't take long for the sweat to pour from my brow. I had to wipe my sunglasses every mile because the sweat had clouded them. I had my fuel belt on containing a bottle of water and a bottle of Powerade. By the time I completed the first mile, the refrigerated contents were luke warm. It didn't matter, I guzzled down some water trying to ration it for the rest of the trip. All in all, I ran a slower pace but did complete the 6 miles.

Today I went swimming. If you think running is tough, swimming is twice as hard. I haven't done a whole lot of swimming in my life and I now know why. After the first five laps I thought my arms were going to fall off! I ended up with 25 laps and I'm sure I'm going to feel it tomorrow. But with such a beautiful summer day outside, I couldn't resist the temptation.