It's official

I've received confirmation that I am registered for the Bass Pro Shops Conservation Marathon. Since training has already begun, I didn't have my expected "Dear God, what have I DONE?" moment -- I've already had plenty of those as I look through the coming weeks of my training schedule!

What IS going through my head is "whoa, I'm a MARATHON runner." The weeks ahead still scare me, but today a goofy grin is plastered across my face. This was always something I WANTED to do, but something I assumed I wasn't capable of. Today I paid $68 to be one of the insane folks eating massive amounts of pasta during the Saturday evening pasta dinner -- where I'll get to hear Bill Rodgers speak -- and line up with up to 1,000 others going after the medal and hat that confirm I've done something insane, run 26.2 miles in one stretch. The course is open for 8 hours, and I imagine I'll be on it for about 6 of that. EEK!

In other news, looks like we're finally getting a Jefferson City running group started. I've been exchanging e-mails with a few folks. I'm hoping for a group with a blend of all abilities / paces. If you are interested, let me know! I think it would be a lot of fun to have a group of beginners working on the Couch to 5k program.