What was I thinking?

It's pretty well established that I have all sorts of ideas, some crazier than others. I see something,
 or read about something i think is interesting, and I jump in both feet before really thinking it through. Sometimes the end result is a disaster--or at least a bad call--and other times everything falls into place and good times ensue. The jury is out on this one.

I also have a thing for milestones. I love celebrating a good anniversary, special accomplishment, or date of significance.  I think it's important to recognize the passage of time and the experices that made us (and others) who we are.

So it should come as no surprise that my latest scheme was born from the collision of these two Hingis. The Chicago Marathon was last weekend. When I was listening to the coverage, I realized that the 2017 year would be the 40th anniversary of the race. That means that the first year the race was run was the year I was born. And thus the seed was planted.

I have never had any desire to run a marathon. I have done a bunch of 5, 8, and 10Ks in the past 5 years, but other than joking about it, running any further than that honestly never crossed my mind. Marathoners were crazy, masochistic folks who were too focused on putting in miles, eating well, being serious runners, and I just wanted to run races for the shirts and medals (or for the occasional cause or charity). Yet here I was, convinced that the universe wanted me to run Chicago because it couldn't be a coincidence that both its and my 40th birthdays were the same year. That had to be a sign, right? It was time to push myself further than I ever had physically. Now...who to drag into this with me?

The truth is, I am in no way disciplined enough to follow through with this on my own. And as I ran through my catalog of friends who would even consider doing something so ridiculous, really only one person came to mind. Only my running buddy from 5 years of races was crazy enough motivated enough desired pancakes enough to even consider doing this too.

I texted Kim on Friday night and tossed out the idea, fully expecting some sort of "are you nuts?!" type response. After a minute or so I saw the text bubble appear, and I started working on reply text to have her reconsider and agree. So when the text popped up and said "oh my." "Yes, yes I will." I was flabbergasted. Planning commenced immediately.

And so it came to be that two part-time runners who have never run anywhere near this distance at one time decided to run the Chicago Marathon for charity. And we're documenting the hilarity here. Stay tuned for a years worth of updates, stories, pancakes, and other shenanigans as we attempt to train and run a world major.

(Oh, God...what was I thinking?!)