MY Run: 1 month until the marathon!

     So for those of you that don't know, the marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died, thereby setting a precedent for dramatic conclusions to the marathon.
     Much like Pheidippides, I died. Figuratively of course. Every person has a story and i think that one of the greatest tragedies in life is that we are too afraid to share our experiences with one another. In the recent months I have tried to attain a much greater level of transparency than i ever have in my life. To keep it simple i will say this: God has given me many struggles to make me incredibly strong. I have had a serious life with one traumatic event after another which has made me a serious and in-depth person. But this is the first time in my entire life that i know that i have a future to look forward to. I will continue to face challenges, but i will deal with them after my run.
     I believe that God puts certain people into your life for specific reasons. A friend of mine who is a die-hard triathlete encouraged me to start racing competitively instead of just running for fun. At first i was very skeptical. But then i was presented with this question; "If you are going to do something, why not be the best at it?" And there it was - instant inspiration. I began running and training more than i ever had. There was so much that went into endurance racing that i had never known about! Food, clothing, shoes, GPS, Gu - i absorbed it like a sponge.
     I had revelations like you wouldn't believe! I found my faith through the help of some extremely close friends and God is not just a guy i bring up in conversation anymore.  Running in itself is not my passion - my passion is living a healthy lifestyle and helping others to do the same. Every single person can accomplish amazing things if we could all realize our worth and abilities. I was born to run.     
     Some pretty hilarious things happen when you are training for your first "real" marathon. Ill present them in this blog as i am still learning myself. Enjoy the ride!