Apparently the trees were worth a closer look?

Well, this is turning into a very different sort of March. That is, aside from the heavy snow and the deep, deep desire to beam myself right into July.

One up-in-the-air item has been my running goal, this year. After a short winter break from running, I’ve come back to it feeling healthy (hooray!) and also madly in love with running. It brings me joy. I can’t help but smile while doing it. And so, while I sometimes claim to not be very competitive, the truth is that races are good tests, great social events, and they certainly spice up a run (and season) with extra adrenaline and new faces.

I probably won’t see this on a road marathon course.

For a few years now I’ve been flirting with (this did involve launching spitballs at it) the idea of running a marathon. This will be the year to end the fence-sitting.

Not that many people run marathons: one source reports that .5% of the US population has run (at least) one; another source (if you do the math) puts it at an even lower percentage. It just seems like a lot of people do it because I surround myself with runners and I read running magazines and websites.

I do harbor some fear that a marathon will damage me: Pheidippides didn’t even survive the very first one, though there is strong evidence that he didn’t taper properly. I’ll be careful, as usual, but I think I’ve got it in me.

Last weekend I met some people who may be able to help me train for a marathon: the above sunrise photo was taken on a run with Club Run Minneapolis. These people have great energy and the extra coaching help may help me get through the many months of training ahead of me.

So, it looks like I’ll be taking care of the “do one thing a day that scares you.” The question is, which day will it be? When I register for the race? Do my last long training run? Attempt an intervals run with other people (it’s been a long time since high school cross-country)? Get on the bus over to the start line?