Fit By 40! .... the Quest Begins

Welcome to my blogsite and thank you for supporting my Run to Paris!

How it all started.....

Providing things go as planned, I will celebrate my 40th birthday on August 30th, 2010. For several months now, I have had friends and family inquire about my plans to mark the big milestone. Though hosting a blow-out party sounds like a whole lot of fun (and still may happen), I began considering other options. About two months ago, I finally figured it out. There was only one thing I really wanted at 40, and it was a gift I could only give myself. For my birthday, I want to be in the best physical shape of my life! With that, the quest to be Fit By 40! was on!

Though extremely excited about this possibility, I spent the next 24 hours trying to figure out how this miracle would actually occur. Sitting at my computer it hit me instantly. Four years ago, a former Bank of America colleague, Kevin Collins, introduced me to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training (TNT) program. I had received their brochures ever since and had promised myself that a marathon was a bucket-list item I would get to someday.

I will admit that the thought of me running around the block, much less running a marathon was hugely laughable when I googled the TNT website. As I sat there reading about the LLS organization, the training program, and their success with "beginner-level" athletes, I started to warm up the idea. According to the website, TNT has coached over 400,000 people across the finish lines in endurance events, and I started to feel pretty confident that I would not be the most out-of-shape person they had ever met. The next two things I read, however, made the decision for me. I found out that not only was Spring training beginning in less than a month, but the featured marathon of the season was the Marathon de Paris! At that moment I was committed to the marathon and left with two distinct thoughts: "Well, if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it big!" and "Holy Crap!".

The next day, I reintroduced myself to the gym, bought new running shoes, and within a week I had cut my hair to make training easier. I have been pre-training for about a month and progress has been slow but steady.

I plan to use this blog to share details about my training experience, my fundraising efforts, introduce you to the Honored Heroes I will be running for, and share information about the great work of the LLS. I hope you check back frequently for updates and post words of encouragement along the way.

Until next time,
Lisa
a.k.a. Runner Extraordinaire