14 Races in 2014 Challenge

I want to give a shout out for Marathon Mom's blog (www.runnershoe.blogspot.com). I just joined a challenge I saw on there.  She is asking people to commit to the challenge of running 14 races in 2014!  I couldn't pass that up :)  14 races in 2014.  Wow!!  You can commit to whatever type of race(s) you want to run.  Some people may be doing all full or half marathons but since I'm new to running I selected that I will do a combination of races.They may very well be mainly 5Ks but... It is going to be fun!  It's getting me out there and running and I'm so excited.  I should add that as I said, I have just started running and only completed 3 races in my lifetime.  Since it took me 45 years to run three races, running 14 in one year will definitely be a challenge :-) but I'm committed to it.  I signed up there and I'm putting it here to have you all hold me accountable.  (I know that I really hold myself accountable but I don't want to fail publicly!)  If you are interested, please visit her blog and sign up!



I am already signed up for 3 races!!  Two are 5Ks and one is a half-marathon which I plan to walk/run (in February).  I'd love any tips people have for me!

I am hoping to do three runDisney races this year!  I'm signed up for one already.  I don't think it was an accident that I found this picture of the winner of the Disney Princess Half Marthon, Rachel Booth, and the copy I found had the picture saved as "Rebecca" , my name :)  There is no such thing as a coincidence!  :)  As a newbie runner, I'm not really thinking I will do as well as Rachel Booth who has one three Disney half-marathons and competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials where she came in 31st!  I do, however, believe that with all the properly labeled versions of this picture on the web, I was meant to find the one mislabeled as Rebecca Booth in order to remind myself that my only limitations are the ones I put on myself!!  I can run a marathon with the proper training!!   

I must admit it, I got the marathon bug last month when I read a pre-released copy my friend Mayra's book, Run YOUR Race: A Guide to Making YOUR Impossibles Possible. Mayra and I have both studied with Jack Canfield and know very well that the only limits we have are the ones we put on ourselves.  Mayra has written this awesome book exemplifying that.  The book absolutely drew me in and I read it in one day on my flight back from Pheonix, Arizona (after my last week of Jack Canfield's Train the Trainer program) to Boston, Massachusetts.  Although the purpose of the book is really to encourage us to "make our impossibles possible", it gave me the desire to run a marathon in addition to going after all my dreams.  I believe the book is coming out in January and I highly recommend it!

Anyway, I have the marathon "bug".  I am aware that I need to train and I want to train slowly and properly so I think I'm looking at January 2015 for my first full marathon.  I'm actually not opposed to walking part of it and I'm enjoying reading everyone's tips.  I find them inspiring and they help me remember that I don't need to get a record time, the point is simply to complete it and have fun!