Goals, Inspirations & Aspirations

Goals, inspirations and aspirations...
What's the diff?

To me, a goal is something I am GOING to do.
I've registered for the Hypothermic Half Marathon for February 10, 2013.

An inspiration is someone, or something that makes me want to go for a run, or workout, or get outside my comfort zone.

An aspiration is something that I WANT to do.
I recently read a story about a friend of a friend (this story is actually true, I promise!), who lost 125lbs over the course of 5 years, and just yesterday completed an Ironman.
The whole thing.
By herself.

This story INSPIRED me to ASPIRE to do an ironman.

I was also inspired to register for the Hypothermic Half today, which means that I will do it.
Check it out, I'm on the confirmed list!
Any runner knows that if you drop $73 on a race, there's almost nothing that will stop you from getting your arse to the start line!

This story also sparked my interest in doing another marathon (I'm aiming for the Edmonton Intact in August 2013), and in a few years, after some triathlons (I'm also aiming to do three sprint triathlons over the course of the summer of 2013!), to train for and complete an ironman myself.

When I finish the 1/2 marathon in February, and I'm sure I haven't sustained any more injuries or aggravated the old ones, I plan to register for the Intact marathon and continue training, which means that from this point on, and until mid August, my Sundays will have long runs and my weeks will be filled with bootcamp, short weekday runs and hill runs.

I feel like training is an innate part of my identity.
Knowing that my legs can carry my body over some tremendous distances, has absolutely helped to shape the person I am today.
There have been countless times during my life that I have drawn upon my running experiences to get through a difficult or stressful situation.
Most recently, during my labour with Ellie, when I felt weak, I remember saying to my husband that I felt like I was at mile 20 of the marathon.
At mile 20, I stopped.
I said to my brother and Dad that I was tired, and sore and that 20 miles was enough.
Of course, I didn't stop and I finished the marathon.
All 26.2miles of it.

So, my life is once again dedicated to training and running a couple of large events in the coming months and I really, honestly couldn't be more thrilled!

I'm excited for what my athletic future holds and I hope that I can add triathlete to my sporting resume.
I aspire to someday be assigned an ironman race number that my friends and family can follow during the day-long event!

Thank you Deirdre for sharing your friends' story!
If you happen to read this, please let her know that she has inspired me!