Join Me in 30(0) by 30!!

        I never thought that I would be a blogger type.  I like to say that I lost the technology gene when I graduated from high school and it seems now that the only thing I can do on a computer is write a Word document and send an e-mail.  Anything beyond that is daunting.  The start of starting a blog came to me when I was running the other day and needed my thoughts to distract me from the miles I still had remaining.  It was not a good running day and so I started doing a few calculations in my mind. 
        I wanted to start a blog about running.  I am by no means a fitness expert and I am a very slow runner at that.   There are people out there who have accomplished amazing fitness feats in their lives, and I am not one of them.  Maybe someday, but as of right now, I am a recreational exerciser. I enjoy running sometimes and other times I dread putting on my shoes.  But I have come to realize that I need to exercise, mostly because I really like food and I get crabby if I don't. 
        I started running in January-it wasn't a New Years resolution, mostly just good timing.  Fortunately we had a mild winter and I could run outside without worrying about the snow or ice.  I have realized I hate the treadmill and so running outside is really the only way I will force myself to go on most days.   In March, 2.5 months after I began running, I ran a 10k in 57 minutes.  I then ran a half marathon in April in Salt Lake City.  In May, I ran a 5 mile leg of a triathlon and about died (remember, some days are better than others).  And yesterday, I ran another half-marathon, my second since I started running six months ago.  It was a brutal course with lots of uphills and for some reason, not a lot of downhills.  However, I viewed this as the inaugural race to my plan.

        About two weeks ago I was running and calculating and came up with a plan for my running.  My friend Jess has a fabulous blog about life, fashion, travel, food and all that really fun stuff.  In her blog she has a 30 before 30 list.  I like the idea of lists and crossing things off as you accomplish them.  So therefore, I started thinking about m own 30 before 30 list.  And I came up with the 30(0) by 30. My list is going to consist of miles.  300 miles, in fact-over the next seven years.  I want to race 300 miles by the time I turn 30 and I started yesterday, on my 23rd birthday, with a half-marathon.  13.1 miles down, 286.9 left to go.

On mile 12.5 of the Lewis and Clark Half-Marathon in Bozeman, MT

        So here it goes.  Two weeks ago when I came up with the idea for this blog, I was out on a 5 mile run.  I had not signed up for this specific half marathon yet but was thinking I wanted to do it as a birthday present to myself.  The gift of wellness, duh!  And I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my running and if I wanted to accomplish anything.  This is what I came up with:
First I debated miles vs. kilometers.  Would I want to race 300 miles or 300 km in 7 years?  I told a friend about this blog and she said, "We are in America, we use miles.  You are gonna do 300 miles."  And so that settled that.
I will have to race an average of 42.8571429 miles a year, or about 43 miles. 
This can be accomplished with one marathon, one half marathon, one 5k and one mile-fun run.
Or-3 half marathons, one 5k and one mile-fun run.
Or- 2 half marathons and 3 10ks
Or- 7 10ks
Or- 14 5ks
Or any sort of combination that will put me close to my goal.  Because I started on my 23rd birthday, I will end on my 30th birthday.  I like round numbers like that. 

        So, that is my plan.  I figure it will keep me constantly training and exercising.  Join me in my journey, for a race, or for a few.  I have 300 miles to tick off and I would love some company.  I am slow and complain sometimes, but company always makes it better.  I am excited to share my adventure with you and I hope you will come along for the run of a lifetime.

The best part is that after the run, you can have as much birthday cake as you want!