Ready, Set, Go!

Okay, here is what I figure: if I put it all out there on the Internet, then I’ll either feel more accountable to finish these goals because maybe someone out there is reading this or just feel guilted into finishing because it’s on the Internet and if it’s on the Internet then it must be true (because everything on the Internet is true, right?!).

Here’s what I am putting out there: by the end of 2011 I will have finished my PhD and run my first marathon.

Here’s the truth: I’ve been working on the PhD for a few years now (5, but who is counting?) and have regular mental breakdowns about finishing it. I try to run regularly but would not say I am athletic. I have never run a marathon.

Some people out there might be thinking - so what’s the big deal? Finish school, you bum! Get on a training program like Jared The Subway Dude! The big deal is a little something called LIFE. Motherhood, marriage, work, family, friends...life. And while it may look like I have these things in balance from time to time, I don’t. No one does. It’s one thing at a time. And for this year, I’m committed to checking these two things off my list so that life can make room for some other things that have taken a back seat.

And why the marathon with the PhD? Why not? You have to work hard for both, endure pain, exhaust your mental capacity, the last part for each is the hardest (so they tell me), and when you get to the end I hear you collapse in a heap and get to lay around in bed for a week reading trashy magazines. Sounds great!