50x50 Turtle Nation

Summer 2015, my husband and I are in Athens, Ga, sharing a meal at Logan's Steakhouse. We are discussing our life; what it is in contrast to what we thought it would be. Neither of us is terribly surprised when we come to the realization that we stopped making plans and began "going with the flow." It was at that moment I declared I wanted to make a realistic, bucket list. I blurt out things that I could do and things that are physically impossible. Running is on the ph...ysically impossible list. Since 2008, my lungs and heart have been the enemy. After the death of my daughter, Taylor, it seemed my vital organs began failing. I developed a regurgitating heart valve and at one point my lungs functioned on 42% oxygen. Amazing what grief does to the body. It was the impossibility of running that made me angry. I was asked to live even though I so often wish to be called home, and I couldn't live; not well. At that moment, I declared I was going to run not one, but FIFTY half-marathons by the time I was fifty years old. One in each state. So in preparation, with the little knowledge I've acquired without a coach, and my running buddies (Jennifer Elam and Priscilla Nelson) I am now registered for my first half-marathon. It's been a SLOW training process. My lungs burn within the first 30 seconds of each run, and my heart feels like its going to burst out of my chest shortly afterward. Training is hard; mentally and physically. Progression is slow; my friend, Leslie Dickson Cordova, coined the phrase, turtle nation. I'm a citizen of that country. The pain hasn't killed me, and I may be slow, but I'm running. I'm doing the impossible. Chances are I'll never be elite, but I'm running. And every step, with every breath and every heartbeat, I remember that I was asked to live. So I choose to live well. ‪#‎50x50‬