37 days to go...

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

I know I've blogged this quote before but there's something great about taking on a new challenge. A dare. An adventure. A risk. An escapade.

In 37 days I will line up to start my first marathon. (That's 42.195km or 26 miles 385 yards in USspeak.) I plan to finish. Even if I only do it once. To this end I've been preparing for Pacific Crest every day for weeks and weeks... even though the actual event will take up less than half a day! I run between 8 and 30+ km per day, six days a week. I do long runs, pace runs, short runs and a couple of practice race runs. That's without mentioning the spin classes at gym, swims, walks or whatever else...

But the preparation itself is pretty fun! A couple of weeks ago I was in Canberra for some meetings. In between I squeezed in a few runs including an amazing 22K run around Lake Burley Griffin. Running around the lake in Australia's Capital was small something that was a first for me.... a beautiful, peaceful, prayerful run in the middle of the city.