1. The first thing to pop into my washing machine of thoughts while training for the Derby Festival’s mini marathon is Olive Garden’s never-ending pasta bowl. I look forward to that fateful day in April when I can run from the car to the never-ending bowl of pasta.
2. Old Louisville in the spring will be unexplainably beautiful. Although Louisville is known for the “greatest two minutes in sports”, it is also home to six hours (the maximum time for the mini marathon) in one of the most picturesque historic neighborhoods in the country.
3. Beyonce’s “Run the World (Girls)” streaming through my headphones. My thoughts go from “Ouch, my legs!” to “I can do this.”
4. The Derby Festival Mini Marathon is in its 41st year and attracts about 12,000 runners each year. If 12,000 people of every age can do it, I can do it.
5. “Why did I decide to run 13.1 miles?” I decided to run the Derby Festival Mini Marathon when my best friend asked me to do it with her. It was an outrageous idea, since neither of us could run a mile nonstop when we started training. An idea outrageous enough to be possible with a best friend.
6. The mini marathon sticker to go on the back of my car at the end of the race. You’ve seen these stickers on the bumpers of the cars in front of you at rush hour. And yes, if you rear-end a car bearing that sticker, the driver will be able to run after you.
7. “What’s next? Wait, slow down. Slow and steady is sure to win the race.” In a world where we are inundated with the latest and greatest with every click of the refresh button, it is the reminders to look past the computer and out our office window that stay with us.
8. The finish line. By the time I make it to the Derby Festival in April, the banner screaming “Finish” will be a sign of success no matter what my finishing time is. And on that day in April, I will finally be able to say, “I did it.”
So far in my training, I've made it three continuous miles. Follow me as I train for the many miles ahead.
All Photos Courtesy Shutterstock
