Believe the Impossible

"Chase your dreams and you will catch them!"

That is what Dane Rauschenberg signed in the book he gave me at the 2009 Atlanta Marathon Expo (I forgot to bring my checkbook and I didn't have any cash, so how I got the book is another story that I will also never forget, but I did send him a check in the mail). Meeting Dane was an example of what I call a meeting ordained by God. In less than 5 minutes, I had made a commitment to never give up and to not only chase, but catch my dreams. I was also reminded that there are still good people in the world who actually enjoy helping others achieve their goals in life. The best part was that my daughter was with me and he also made a postive impact on her!

Who is Dane? Dane is an american long distance runner who ran 52 marathons, one every weekend, throughout 2006. He raised over $43,000 for charity (L'Arche was the charity), as part of an effort he called "Fiddy2". Dane was in Atlanta because he was running the ATL Marathon.

At the expo, Dane listened to me as I told him that I had just started running 2 months ago (well, I think I am still jogging more than running) and was running a 5K in the morning (MUST Ministries Gobble Jog). I am sure he was wondering what I was doing at the ATL Marathon expo and not even running in the race the next day, but he just smiled and told me that I would do an awesome job in the morning. He then told me that 5k was just the beginning and that I could run a marathon. I told him that I had wanted to run a marathon, but wasn't sure if I was ready or if I would ever be ready. He told me that I could do it and should do it. He said that I must continue to chase my dreams because I would catch them! Words are so powerful because after he told me that, I felt like I had just given birth to a new dream (OK, I can't think of anything else to describe the moment). At that moment it was a done deal. I was going to run the ING 1/2 marathon in March and do the marathon in November. God tells us in his word that all things are possile to those who believe and I had become a believer....I believed that I could run and finish a marathon, as well as accomplish any goal.

The next morning during I was so excited about my future and ran a good race (finished in 30:02 - this is without training and doing what I call a fast jog). I also sent Dennis an email (one of the ING Trainers) and told him that I was ready for the ING 1/2 Marathon training program. Dennis is an awesome trainer and his bootcamp classes have really helped me to lose and maintain my weight, as well as become stronger (I can actually do push ups). I was ready to do whatever he or Asia (the other trainer) wanted me to do!!! 2 minute sprints, suicides, as well as run 7 flights of stairs 5 times (well, the stair exercises can be modified).

So as I prepare for the 1/2 marathon and marathon races in 2010, I wanted to create a blog to share my thoughts and accomplishments. I have met many people who enjoy running over the last couple of months and I also want to document what they have told me so that others can read it and get inspired to chase their dreams. My goal is to document all of my races for 2009 and 2010.