New Goal: Runnin' the majors.

Before I get into the running talk, I wanna talk about a snack I had:








I was eating some grapes yesterday and ran into this freak of nature-------------------------------------------------->

What's going on here?  A twin?  The King Grape?

And while we're talking about fruit, do you think kids growing up today will know that watermelon used to have seeds in it?
I am going to make sure my future kids know.  And tell them that if they swallow a seed, it will grow a tree in their stomach.

Anywayssszzz....onto the running talk....

Each time I've run a marathon I've figured it would be my last.  

Marathon 1:
I ran the Austin marathon 2004 on a whim when I was a junior in college.  I think I registered about a week before, and ran it with a friend who didn't even register.  Yes, she ran 26 miles with no record to it.
Untrained, and uninformed, it was one of the most physically painful experiences of my life.  Also, true to form, I went out hilariously fast and remember being in front of the 3:30 pace group for some time.

I swore I'd never do one of those again....

Marathon 2:
It took like six years to do one again...
The next marathon, my same friend (do we see a pattern?  Hi Hilary!), decided we should meet up for Chicago and run it.  Being the sucker that I am, I agreed and signed up.  I remembered the pain of Austin, so I semi trained.  Long runs just ain't my thing.  This was my BQ, a 21 minute PR, and my first time in the beautiful city of Chicago, so the Chicago Marathon has a special place in my heart.  I remember the pure elation I felt as I realized around mile 24, that I was going to qualify for Boston (a dream of mine for years).  

As much as I wanted that to be my last marathon, I knew I had to take the opportunity to run Boston.  This would be my last marathon ever. 

Marathon 3
This spring, I bucked up and ran Boston.  It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.  Maybe that statement means I haven't experienced a lot of cool stuff in my life, but I think it more means I just love the sport of long distance running.

What Now?

And now...I think I want to do more.  I've decided I want to complete the majors (that are accessible to lay-women like me):  New York, Berlin, London.  What motivated this decision is that I've done 40% of them...why not keep goin'. =)

I wanna hear people cheer and say stuff like "Gute Arbeit" (just found that in google translator), "BMW", "The Gap",  "Bumbershoot", and "Sod Off!".  
"If you can make it here you can make it anywhere" would be cool too.  

Anyone know what my odds are of getting into London if I apply every year from now until 2050?

Have you done (or are planning to do) Chicago, Boston, NYC, London, or Berlin?  Any other lofty and expensive plans ?   

Oh yeah...and I wanna do Athens too!!  The first marathon!  I'll play this on my ipod during the race:

....Ooo and it's alright and it's comin' 'long
We got to get right back to where we started from....