How it all began...

I remember the day vividly. This past May 2009, my husband and our 3 kids, ages 5, 3 and 5 weeks had driven to Newport, OR and were waiting to see her. My mother-in-law, Joan, would be rounding the corner at any time now. She was running in her very first marathon. Each runner that past us to go to the finish line only built my anticipation. And there she was, jogging the last stretch of her 26.2 mile journey. We screamed and cheered and held our signs. I choked back my own tears of pride for her. Here was this woman in her 50's who had never run prior to the previous year and she did it. She ran a marathon! When she came over to us, she said to me "I made it! I can do ANYTHING!"
I thought to myself, "wow. I want that feeling."
That's when it happened. Not once during her weeks of training did I ever want to do what she was doing nor did I think I could. But there it was, the tiny spark in my own heart that said "I think I want to do it too."
Doubt quickly followed. I had just had a baby in April and was still recovering from c-section and the fatigue that comes with a new born. I had gained a liberal amount of baby weight (more then 50 pounds) and had not exercised regularly since high school soccer 11 years ago. How could I run any distance when walking up and down the stairs at my house made me breathless?
I remembered then how Joan had started. Last summer Joan was like me. Maybe a few pounds overweight and not a runner. A friend encouraged her to start with an easy goal. Joan went out in the following days and ran 1/2 mile. 11 months later she completed her marathon.
My determination begin to build. I started walking down my driveway to get the mail, .6 miles. It took more then 2 weeks before I could do it without huffing and puffing. When I would get to my mailbox, I would look up the road and wonder if I really would be able to run. I let myself be realistic and slow, never forgetting that I had a new baby, not expecting myself to be able to do grand distances too soon.
I was excited the first time I put my feet on the pavement. I jogged to the nearest street sign (less then .1 miles) and jogged back to my driveway. This was my beginning.