Oh hey.
My name is Sabrina McCarley and I'm a nearly 27-year-old nutcase who likes to run marathons. Without training much. This is not a place to take advice, as I clearly do everything wrong. This is a place to read nutty stories about a nutty chick who has plans to achieve a (what some might consider) nutty goal.
I started running marathons when I was 16. My nutty (yes, I've used the word nutty 4 times in the last 3 sentences-get over it) cross country coach roped me into joining 'Students Run LA,' a non-profit endeavor to keep kids off the streets (because clearly, I needed an alternate hobby-the wheelin' and dealin' lifestyle was takin' me in the wrong direction). More like the chicken nuggets and soda pops were tossing me on a one way track toward Type 2 Diabetes.
I joined cross country to lose weight when I was 15. Chunkster Sabs needed to shed a few pounds and running seemed like a sure fire way to get there. Little did I know that I would actually be quite good at it. By the end of sophomore season, I was voted the Most Valuable Runner. Oh snap.
Turns out I was good at 3 mile courses, not so much 26.2 mile courses. I am an average marathoner. Don't let my extremist goal fool you into believing I'm some sort of elite runner. Because elite is something I will never be. I've come to terms with that fact. I'm fairly certain I'll never be sponsored by one of those multi-billion dollar running corporations, but I'm passionate. And that's all that really matters.
Back to my story.
After building up my endurance and stamina over the course of a year and a half (sophomore year and part of junior), a marathon seemed like something manageable. And so I did it.
I ran the Los Angeles Marathon in March of 2004, the event's second hottest year in history. It took me 5 hours and 17 minutes but I did it. And from that day, I've been hooked. After experiencing the seemingly narcotic highs and fierce energy of thousands of people coming together to pummel themselves into the asphalt, I realized that initial effort to keep me off the street (in a metaphorical way) had ultimately thrown me out onto it (literally). That little saying, "Bet ya can't have just one," rings true for me and marathons.
After seeing my cross country coach's long list of completed marathons all over the globe, I found a new bucket list goal for myself. I wanted to run a marathon in every state. And eventually on every continent. But we'll stick to the states first.
Now, 10 years later, I've knocked 13 (almost 14 after next weekend) states off the list and have decided to finish the 50 by the time I turn 30. This means I have to run 36 marathons in the next 3 years. For all you mathematically challenged folks, that's a marathon a month for 3 years. Which seems a little nutty, but when you check out the folks that are running them everyday for weeks and months at a time, it doesn't seem like such a lofty feat.
But those people are not me.
And one a month is plenty (well, I'm doing three in a month over the summer but that's just me being silly). Watch me get injured. Would be just my luck.
Here is a a look at where I'm at:
I'll be using this little bloggy to update those of you that are interested in this endeavor I've thrown myself into.
Please keep in mind that this blog is not just for runners.
Nor is it just for people who know me personally and want to stay updated on this magical life of mine.
Nor is it just for wannabe runners who want to live vicariously through someone who is doing cooler things than they are.
This blog is for passionate people who set goals and take steps to achieve them, or maybe haven't taken any steps (yet), or maybe haven't set any goals (yet), but have every intention to once they stop reading and start doing. Feel inspired people.
This blog is for normal people with normal lifestyles, and also for exceptional people with exceptional lifestyles. No sub-par people though please. If you don't know whether you qualify as sub-par, ask a neighbor. But don't hope to get an honest response. Just read my blog to boost you out of the land of sub-pardom. Because, ok, yes this blog is for sub-par people as well.
Hey guess what, this blog is for everyone! Yee.
Check back on Monday for an update on my race in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho.
My name is Sabrina McCarley and I'm a nearly 27-year-old nutcase who likes to run marathons. Without training much. This is not a place to take advice, as I clearly do everything wrong. This is a place to read nutty stories about a nutty chick who has plans to achieve a (what some might consider) nutty goal.
I started running marathons when I was 16. My nutty (yes, I've used the word nutty 4 times in the last 3 sentences-get over it) cross country coach roped me into joining 'Students Run LA,' a non-profit endeavor to keep kids off the streets (because clearly, I needed an alternate hobby-the wheelin' and dealin' lifestyle was takin' me in the wrong direction). More like the chicken nuggets and soda pops were tossing me on a one way track toward Type 2 Diabetes.
I joined cross country to lose weight when I was 15. Chunkster Sabs needed to shed a few pounds and running seemed like a sure fire way to get there. Little did I know that I would actually be quite good at it. By the end of sophomore season, I was voted the Most Valuable Runner. Oh snap.
Turns out I was good at 3 mile courses, not so much 26.2 mile courses. I am an average marathoner. Don't let my extremist goal fool you into believing I'm some sort of elite runner. Because elite is something I will never be. I've come to terms with that fact. I'm fairly certain I'll never be sponsored by one of those multi-billion dollar running corporations, but I'm passionate. And that's all that really matters.
Back to my story.
After building up my endurance and stamina over the course of a year and a half (sophomore year and part of junior), a marathon seemed like something manageable. And so I did it.
I ran the Los Angeles Marathon in March of 2004, the event's second hottest year in history. It took me 5 hours and 17 minutes but I did it. And from that day, I've been hooked. After experiencing the seemingly narcotic highs and fierce energy of thousands of people coming together to pummel themselves into the asphalt, I realized that initial effort to keep me off the street (in a metaphorical way) had ultimately thrown me out onto it (literally). That little saying, "Bet ya can't have just one," rings true for me and marathons.
After seeing my cross country coach's long list of completed marathons all over the globe, I found a new bucket list goal for myself. I wanted to run a marathon in every state. And eventually on every continent. But we'll stick to the states first.
Now, 10 years later, I've knocked 13 (almost 14 after next weekend) states off the list and have decided to finish the 50 by the time I turn 30. This means I have to run 36 marathons in the next 3 years. For all you mathematically challenged folks, that's a marathon a month for 3 years. Which seems a little nutty, but when you check out the folks that are running them everyday for weeks and months at a time, it doesn't seem like such a lofty feat.
But those people are not me.
And one a month is plenty (well, I'm doing three in a month over the summer but that's just me being silly). Watch me get injured. Would be just my luck.
Here is a a look at where I'm at:
I'll be using this little bloggy to update those of you that are interested in this endeavor I've thrown myself into.
Please keep in mind that this blog is not just for runners.
Nor is it just for people who know me personally and want to stay updated on this magical life of mine.
Nor is it just for wannabe runners who want to live vicariously through someone who is doing cooler things than they are.
This blog is for passionate people who set goals and take steps to achieve them, or maybe haven't taken any steps (yet), or maybe haven't set any goals (yet), but have every intention to once they stop reading and start doing. Feel inspired people.
This blog is for normal people with normal lifestyles, and also for exceptional people with exceptional lifestyles. No sub-par people though please. If you don't know whether you qualify as sub-par, ask a neighbor. But don't hope to get an honest response. Just read my blog to boost you out of the land of sub-pardom. Because, ok, yes this blog is for sub-par people as well.
Hey guess what, this blog is for everyone! Yee.
Check back on Monday for an update on my race in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho.
No comments:
Post a Comment