It's my party

Whew! I bet you all thought I may never return to my humble little running abode? I'm back, friends. Now, first things first... let's clear some things up.

Thank you all so very much for your very kind words of support after my recent run-in with the EX. Seeing him, and then coming here to write about it, and then hearing all of your kind words really helped me to work through some old stuff that I've been carrying around for a while. It turns out that now that I've seen him, I'm getting over the whole ordeal. Seriously! I've hardly even thought about it for the past few weeks. It's like I've somehow gotten ---closure (gasp!). And here I thought it would never come. Thank you all for giving me a boost when I desperately needed one.

Secondly... This past weekend would have been my marathon. (OK, the RNR AZ Marathon, but still it would have been mine, right?) Huge props to Pokey, who stuck it out (not like me the big fat quitter) and finished her 2nd HM in a year! Also, make sure to congratulate Leah, over at Before I'm 30, who finished her first Marathon! These ladies did an exceptional job (though no race reports have been posted yet), and continue to inspire me to lace up my shoes yet again.

With that in mind---I have decided that I'm going to shoot for the Country Music Half-Marathon at the end of April. Why the HM and not the full, you ask? Well, it's as simple as this: I don't have to impress anyone.

When I began training last year, I initially only wanted to train for the HM. But then I felt the pressure (it's an all-too-familiar feeling for me) of other people's expectations and judgment weighing me down, and far too soon I began to feel like I had to run the full marathon to feel like I'd accomplished anything. This, I now see, is completely ridiculous. There will always be another marathon coming up for which I can train. And I believe that, if I am honest with myself*, I will be just as proud of myself for running 13.1m as I would be for run/walk/crawling 26.2m. So there you have it. A new year, and a new goal. One that I've come to on my own, without considering who might look down their nose at me for "not doing the full distance".

*I hate to call it a "resolution", but this year I've made a promise to myself that I will be as respectful and kind to myself as I am to all of my friends. And I don't lie to or break promises that I make to my friends.

Finally, I'd like to encourage you all to check out the swift little contest being held by Vanilla. If you're interested in increasing your speed this year, why not inject a little competitive spirit into it?

It's good to be back!