The count down is on.  T Minus two days and counting.  “Counting to what,” you might ask, and I would reply, “My first half marathon.”  Not only am I a quilting enthusiast but I am also a runner.  One year ago my running adventure began.  It’s not by any means a famous one, but it’s mine.  So how do I balance quilting with running and visa versa . . . well it isn’t easy.  My husband would say that I take multitasking to the extreme.  He believes that if it were possible I would somehow find a way to do both at the same time.  Pushing my long arm quilter, in front of me, while running, is absolutely impossible.  Setting priorities is how I do it.

February 2011 my daughter KT and I made a pact to begin exercising at least three times a week.  We didn’t join a gym or attend organized classes.  Nope, we simply met in my basement, turned on the TV and DVD player and inserted an exercise disk.  Getting together early in the morning wasn’t always easy, nor desirable but we did.  Becoming physically fit and loosing a few pounds here and there were our goals.  The more time we dedicated to our endeavor the more we saw results.

Somewhere along the journey we got wind of a program that would take people from their couch to a 5K.  My husband Gary and I were very curious.  We visited our local running store All Season Runner to find out if it was true.  Indeed there actually was such a program.  Not knowing exactly what might lie ahead we enthusiastically registered.  Without KT’s permission, we enrolled her as well.  After all, why wouldn’t she want to join her parents?  From that moment on our lives have never been the same.

Since completing my 5K training I have participated in two 5K’s, a 10K, a 5 miler and a 3 mile fun run.  Each of those events brought its own challenges and rewards.  What ever the case may be neither of them created an insurmountable hurdle.

Riding on the enthusiasm sparked by the shorter races and craving a new goal we continued our training with All Season Runner by challenging ourselves to reach for and overcome a higher goal.  Our new hurdle was to train for and run in our first half marathon.  The training plan began in February of this year and continued for 15 weeks.

Before 2011 the prospect of running 13.1 miles would have never been on my radar screen.  Running any longer than ten seconds would have brought me to my knees.  Just like all other runners we put one foot in front of the other, gradually increasing our endurance and stamina.

This afternoon we drove to Madison, WI to pickup our 2012 Madison Half Marathon race packets.  In less than forty-eight hours the race will be all over.  Until then I will wait in anticipation for my greatest challenge to date.  Stay tuned . . .