This is it. #DisneylandHalf
On November 13, 2013, I started the HMR Diet. Walking quickly left me out of breath and running was out of the question.
On January 28th, 2014, I logged on to Facebook during my lunch break and saw on Facebook that the Disneyland Half Marathon was 90% full after only opening a couple of hours earlier.
I signed up.
I had not yet run a full mile.
On February 20th, 2014, I sent the following email to my health coach:
“I arrived early for a class and thought… Wonder if I could run a mile before class?
I did it! It was “only” at 4.0mph but I don’t care. I didn’t walk at all!!!!I am stupid excited and just had to share. Thank you for the motivation!”
Since that email, I have run a lot of miles have gotten faster in the process. I broke the 30 minute mark for my 5k time and continued to shave down my 10k time. I even completed a local half marathon two weeks ago as a last minute replacement for my long run that weekend and got below the magical 2:30 I had dreamed of breaking. Yet completing that half marathon seemed easy, I signed up for it knowing I could run it.
Disneyland is a different beast. I committed to this race based solely on the belief I could someday do it. That my body, which could not run one mile, would be able to last for 13.1 miles. That I wouldn’t fall off course over the 8 months leading up to the race.
It took serious faith in myself to commit. And a commitment to myself to train and fuel properly.
I don’t know what race day will bring. I don’t know if I will PR but that’s not my goal this Sunday.
I am doing this to celebrate my journey. To celebrate my commitment to myself. To celebrate the trust I had in my ability to continue the journey to this moment.
Do you want to celebrate and follow along on the journey with me? My bib is 5272 and I invite you to celebrate virtually by signing up for runner tracking.
Having faith in yourself and in the process can take you to amazing places and help you achieve things you didn’t think were possible. I will be running 13.1 miles on Sunday and I can’t wait!
The Healthy Academic 
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