"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  - Isaiah 40:31

Run and not grow weary for 13.1 miles was the goal I set for myself in the early hours of 2013.  And I've never really been a runner, or much of an athlete.  My only experience in "running" was in a race that took place the night before the 4th of July at the turn of the millennium.  My best friend and I decided to give it a try and promised ourselves that if we didn't come in last place we would stop at Krispy Kreme on the way home to celebrate our first race.  We didn’t stop.  (Also, mental note to self:  rethink strategy for rewards related to athletic achievements.)

In February 2012 we decided to surprise our boys with a birthday trip to Disney World.  While we were there, the seeds for this 13.1 mile goal were planted.  Each winter, usually the weekend after President's Day, Disney World hosts the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  While the race is open to anybody, most participants are female and most dress up as their favorite Disney princess or just as a princess in general.  Lots of tutus and tiaras.  The course even takes you through Cinderella's castle.

The 13.1 mile seeds were fertilized by two books I read in 2012, R.A. Dickey's Wherever I Wind Up and Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken.  If you're wondering why a girl who wants to run a race in a tiara and tutu is reading a baseball player's autobiography, I'm always on the lookout for admirable sports heroes for the ball players in my family and R. A. Dickey's story is one I want my boys to know.  Plus he's a Tennessee Volunteer and was an Academic All-American while at UT.  (I like to push the academically and athletically gifted sports heroes.)  

Dickey talks about how he struggled as a pitcher and a human being until he began living more “authentically.”  A lot of other people talk about living “authentically” as well (see Oprah, Brene Brown, Glennon Melton of Momastery) and this concept really got under my skin.  Perhaps because it challenged my concept of living “authentically:” Real Housewives marathons and Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream.  Living “authentically” usually involves putting yourself out there and challenging yourself which is (insert whiney voice here) hard.

Louis Zamperini's story in Unbroken helped me understand that my definition of (insert whiney voice here) hard was inexcusable.  I’ve always joked that we’re a whole lot “softer” than our grandparents were and this book made me realize just how true that is, at least in my case.  Zamperini was a promising Olympic athlete whose plane crashed in the Pacific during World War II.  He and another man survived forty seven days (a third man died after 33) on a rubber life raft with very little food or water, all while being shot at by Japanese bombers and followed by sharks.  Once they finally made landfall they were captured by the Japanese Army and held as POWs for over three years.  As I read Hillenbrand’s account of Zamperini’s story I wondered just how long I would last in similar circumstances.  And it woke me up to just how tough and resilient the human body really is. 

I’ve run thousands of miles in my mind, not nearly as many in reality.  Something always seemed to slow me down.  Shin splints, plantar fasciitis, allergies, laziness.  Reading about the hard labor Zamperini endured in the POW camps, all while being fed inedible food and having difficulty even keeping that in his system really put my “aches and pains” associated with exercising into perspective.  (Not knocking people with real injuries that slow them down, but mine usually amounted to a little bit of soreness.)

Now the 13.1 seeds are being nurtured by the Couch to 5K training program and my sweet husband and boys.  When I told them about my goal of running 13.1 miles in February 2014 Jay and Will were so excited for me, and this was before we told them that we would stay the week at Disney after the half-marathon.  I’ve spent so much time watching them play different sports, they surprised me with their genuine enthusiasm in watching me in an athletic pursuit.  And I think it will be good for them to see their mom stick with something that doesn’t come easy for her. 

So you may see me in my neighborhood or on a greenway in Knoxville huffing and puffing and generally going slower than I’d like, but faster and farther than I’ve ever been before.  I’m getting closer to running and not growing weary and walking without being faint.  And sharing my journey is an exercise in living authentically.

Here we go!