Dreamin’

I woke up this morning still kind of halfway in the dream I was having.  In the dream, I was talking to a friend of mine who had asked if I were running the Chicago Marathon this year. I guffawed at the thought and told her “Hell NO!”. After that, she brought up the idea of Chicago 2014, and dream-me found myself being talked into it (I cave easily to peer pressure, what can I say?) and thinking, “Yea, I could do that…”.

Chicago 2011 Finisher

Whaaaat?  Let’s just say, I was happy it was just a dream.

And then … and then… (in real life)

…I thought, “why not?”

Back in what feels like a different life, I’ve done 4 marathons, the most recent being Chicago 2011. After that one (as after every other marathon I’ve done) I swore up and down that I’d never do one again. Never! And plus, this last one, I was finally satisfied with my results — a 4:09 finish and I never once quit on the course — and haven’t really had an urge to do one since then.

This morning I had an interval workout to get in — I had intended to do what I did last week and head downstairs to hit the rowing machine — but dream-me kept poking at my brain.  I started thinking (I know, I know… I’m just asking for trouble):  one of the things that I want from this program is to feel like a runner again. I’ve been waiting to hit the pavement, though, because all the extra weight makes running uncomfortable.  It struck me, though — you don’t have to feel like a runner to be a runner.  And all it takes to be a runner is to go out and (surprise!) run.

So, I made a few slogging steps towards my goal and did my interval training out running. It hurt, it was hard, and I felt like a faux runner out there, but, indeed — by definition — I am once again a runner. And if I keep being a runner, I’ll soon feel like a runner as well. Makes sense to me.

And Chicago Marathon 2014?  I’ve tucked that idea into the back of my head, letting it percolate and I’ll see if it bubbles up again … or if I’ll come to my senses and do what dream-me was unable to do and just say no to marathons!