And so it begins...

Day one! Holy cow, I am actually doing this! The goal today was three miles. Get the legs warmed up and get back in the habit...

Big Sur is known to be a tough marathon...the course includes more than 20 hills. If I said this didn't scare the poo out of me, I would be lying. I try to calm myself by repeating that I am in training, that my training is just beginning - just because I can't do it today doesn't mean I won't be able to do it in 18 weeks. I tell myself that I just have to train for the hills.

So, I decided that I should include hills in as many runs as possible. I picked a pretty short hill for my first run...I wasn't sure whether to run it first when my legs were still fresh, or run it last when I was more tired to really challenge myself...In the end, it was a matter of available light. The sun was beginning to set, and the houses along that stretch of 6th Ave. tend to block out the sun. So, I decided to run the hill while it was still light enough for me to avoid the icy patches. I felt pretty strong during the hill and for the first two and a half miles, but had ran out of steam by the end of the three and a half miles.

The good news is that I didn't quit. But, I had to keep reminding myself that I was just beginning and that I was going to keep getting stronger...I have no choice but to begin where I am right now.

Right now, it's just the beginning!