Let's celebrate my birthday by doing something CRAZY

Four weeks from today, I turn 35. This is good news! I mean, aside from the fact that I have all sorts of old people diseases and expect to break a hip any day now, every year of my 30s has been better than the year before. For real. My 20s were great, my 30s have been better, and I’m excited about what comes next (minus the aforementioned hip thing).

So how does one celebrate hitting their mid-thirties? Well, I was on a long run recently and I got to thinking about my inspiring friend Tara, who runs marathons (with an “s” – that girl is hardcore!) and on her thirtieth birthday actually ran 30 miles.

(This is when I sidetrack to say, if you’re not a runner, that that is AMAZING. Also, I should note that long runs can be very boring sometimes, and your mind drifts to all kinds of places it probably should stay away from. So if the following sounds kind of ridiculous, let’s just blame the endorphins. Deal?)

All that to say, I am NOT running 35 miles on my 35^th birthday. Uh uh. No way. That would be INSANE.

But . . . I am planning on running 35 miles during my 35^th birthday week!

I’m still a newbie runner in many ways, having only started running about a year and a half ago. I’m training for a half marathon right now which will be my first race ever. Until I started training, I ran about 10-12 miles a week and my longest single run was 6 miles. Even now, I’m only up to long runs of 9 miles and 20 miles per week. So, I’m no Tara, but this is a challenge that’s appropriately Jennifer-sized.

I guess the question some people might be asking is why. Well, a good question with multiple answers. Part of it is because, like Everest, the challenge is there. Why not? That seems like a good enough reason on its own.

Another huge reason is that I can! The Jennifer of 3 years ago sure couldn’t have done this, but I really think this is something I can accomplish. It’s a celebration of turning 35 in the best physical shape of my life. I know my knees and creaky joints won’t always allow me to do this, so why not take advantage of it while I’m able?

But, since all that might not be motivation enough for me when the mileage starts to add up, my tiredness accumulates, and I want to quit, I’ve decided to add one more layer. If people are interested in encouraging me and celebrating, I’m asking friends to consider making a donation to Blood: Water Mission. B:WM is a non-profit that focuses on HIV/AIDS issues and clean water in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a well-respected organization that received 4 stars (out of 4) from Charity Navigator. It’s an organization with a great mission that I’m proud to support. I’m going to use the pledges and donations to B:WM as one more source of encouragement: It’s going to be harder for me to quit if I know people are partnering with me as I run! 

If you’d like to donate, use this link to my Causes page.

 

If you can't donate, I'll be happy to take motivational phrases (preferably embroidered on throw pillows).  

So, the week of October 14-20, be on the lookout for a very tired, very happy Jen. I’ll be the one wearing orange and blue and sweating a lot.