The List Begins

I am a complete and total NON-professional athlete. I even feel guilty using the word athlete- its connotation of dedication, hard work, blood, sweat, tears...

I started "seriously" running in April of 2010, after trying limiting diets and "eating plans" to control the puff that my American diet and eating habits had put around my middle. My family had relocated the summer before back to Houston from a one year stay in Holland (see the other blog for details on that madness), and since returning, I had packed on an extra 10-15 lbs from my sedentary American lifestyle (as a photographer, I spend a vast amount of time sitting at the computer). Ok, my affinity for sweets and ice cream and french fries didn't help, either.

Returning to running (I ran in high school for fun, and college for a few grades) happened after seeing my older brother, and how he packed his face with any and everything he wanted to eat, never gaining a pound. His confession? "I run 9 miles every day so I can eat whatever I want."

Now THAT was a diet I could live with.

So a few weeks before my 36th birthday, I grabbed some Nikes, hit the street, and started burning away the calories I would indulge myself with all day. And that's how I became a runner.

I churn out a few miles every few days in a good week, and never at a speed or distance to earn any accolades. Currently, my most impressive feat is to run 3 miles in 30 minutes. I've ran my fair share of 5 and 10K races, all just for fun, and I've never broken 30 minutes for a 5k, or an hour for 10K. My goal with every half marathon is simply to finish, and when asked what my goal time is, I reply, "the time it says when I'm done!"

NOT a professional. NOT going to be on the cover of Running Times or Sports Illustrated, that's for sure.

I just wanted to set the record straight so that you guys didn't balk when you saw my race times or training times. I'm no speed demon.

But there are races I've always wanted to try- the Marathon to Marathon in far west Texas, the Dr. Pepper marathon (which, since Dr. Pepper severed their ties with the Dublin bottling company apparently doesn't happen any more), night trail races, the Viking runs and colorful 5K celebrations... the list is a little obnoxious. I even found myself looking up old races I ran in high school to see if they still exist, and was delighted to find out that the Schlotzky's Bun Run AND the Chuy's Hot to Trot races are still going strong in Austin!

I want my list to be a nice mix of old and new, bold and weird, large and small- races that have character, or are tied to a great cause, or that have sentimental meaning to me.

And, well... I have a head start.

If I am to run 13 races, that boils down to one a month for 11 months, and one month with two. So far this year, I've finished two races, so I just need to come up with 11 more to complete my mission, and I may already have my month of two decided, so I just have to fill in the rest of the months with one race a piece.

So, as of today, the list is as follows:

Race #1: Aramco Houston Half Marathon, January 13, 2013 (3:00:05)
Race #2: Livestrong Austin Half Marathon, February 17, 2013 (2:39:50)
Race #3: TBD in March
Race #4: Capitol 10K, April 7, 2013
Race #5: TBD, April 2013
Race #6: TBD, May 2013
Race #7: TBD, June 2013
Race #8: TBD, July 2013
Race #9: TBD, August 2013
Race #10: TBD, September 2013
Race #11: TBD, October 2013
Race #12: TBD, November 2013
Race #13: TBD, December 2013