It's Official!

Last night, I did something scary and amazing--I registered for the 2010 PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon!!

I REALLY like a good bargain, and Tuesday was the last day to register for only $100. Okay, granted the cost only went up $15 after Tuesday, but still, I have plenty of other running-related things to spend that $15 on.

It was exhilarating to register! The only tough part was when the registration asked me to estimate my marathon finish time. I became paralyzed, not knowing what to think. Do I guess low so I'm not stuck in the last coral? How much will I continue improving? It's just sooooo hard to know where I'll be at, pace-wise, come January. Luckily, with a little research, I discovered that I can change my estimated time (which helps determine where I start at the Starting Line) up to 6 weeks before the race (online) and the day before (at the Expo). No stress needed!

So, it's official, I'm registered to run the marathon . . . and I can't wait!!

Rick and I had actually already climbed in bed last night to watch the season premier of one of our favorite shows--The Biggest Loser--when I realized I still needed to register to meet the early registration deadline. We have watched every season of the show since it began. I just think the show is so inspiring, and we get REALLY into it!

In past seasons, I've been in various states of "shape" as I watch the show. Most seasons I've been as fat and inactive as ever. A few seasons I've been "on the wagon" with a healthy lifestyle. Obviously, the show is more fun to watch when I'm doing well with eating and exercising because I can feel a little more "holier-than-thou" about it all.

This year, I met the beginning of the show with mixed emotions. Obviously, I feel great about the exercise I've been getting. Not so great about the eating. So, we'll what The Biggest Loser brings this year.

Tuesday's show showed the contestants' first "challenge" which was walking/running 1 mile. This was an interesting one to relate to. On one hand, 6 months ago, I honestly think I would have felt like running that distance was insurmountable for me. It felt great to know that I was capable of running that far . . . and much further. I've never been able to say that before.

On the other hand, the first contestant to finish the challenge (who weighed 316 pounds) finished the mile in just short of 15 minutes. WOW. A Biggest Loser contestant in the FIRST week of the show ran a mile faster than I generally do. I was moderately humbled to realize this.

The thing is, I know I can run a mile in faster than 15 minutes. I've been fairly "pansy-like" about my pace because I haven't wanted to get injured or overexert myself and not be able to finish my mileage for the day. I do think that I have probably been too timid about my pace. I'll try to be more aware of that thanks to the efforts of the 316 pound kid on the show.