Introduction

What would you do if today was your last day on Earth? How would you spend your time? Would you be pleased with your life up to this point, or do you have a greater vision of what you can accomplish?

I ask you these questions in order to remind you that each day is precious, truly a gift from God. Each day we are given is precious because we are not guaranteed tomorrow, which means that we must make the most out of today—living life to its fullest.

When he was in the beginning stages of his coaching career, former college football coach Lou Holtz spent some time reflecting on how he intended on making the most out of life. During this time of reflection, Coach Holtz came up with a list of 108 things he wanted to do before he died, a broad list containing destinations to which he would like to travel, people he would like to meet, and goals he would like to accomplish. The list would serve as his motivation throughout his coaching career, and I’m sure it still serves as motivation to him to this day.

Inspired by Coach Holtz’s exercise of making a list of worthwhile things to accomplish in life, I took some time to reflect on what I would like to do with my life. In the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I set aside some time by myself in silence to create a list of my own. I purposely created a list of bold activities—such as skydiving and traveling to every island in the Caribbean—so that I always have something to strive for in life. I don’t want to be able to accomplish everything on my list in a year—not in five years, not in twenty years, not even in forty years. I made a list that truly challenges me to live my life to its fullest, a list that, when completed, I can look my self in the mirror and tell myself that I lived a full life.

One of the activities on my list of things to accomplish before I die is to run a marathon. Now, this can’t be too daunting of a task because millions of people run marathons each year. But to say you are going to run a marathon is completely different from actually running one. I ran cross country in high school, and the farthest we ever ran at one time was ten miles, which was enough to wear me out! I have the utmost respect for those people who have the discipline to push themselves for 26.2 miles. I have always wanted to experience the feeling of satisfaction that must enter one’s body when he or she crosses the finish line of a marathon. The thought of having to actually run the whole 26.2 miles, though, has always been intimidating enough to keep me from pursing one of my life goals.

My fear of going the distance changed, however, within ten seconds on January 15, 2007. It was on this day that I was driving from my home in Louisiana to the University of Notre Dame for the spring semester of my senior year when I was reminded just how precious life is. Just an hour and a half away from school, as I was driving by the outskirts of Chicago, it began to snow very hard. I took the proper precautions by keeping my distance between my car and the car in front of me, and I made sure to pump the brake pedal gradually when I needed to slow down. However, as I was merging onto Interstate 65 from Interstate 80, my car drove over a patch of ice and began to skid. Within ten seconds, my car did a little more than a 180 degree turn and the back of my explorer rammed into the concrete rail of the overpass. If it were not for this rail, my car would have slid off the overpass onto I-80.

It was at this point that I realized how fragile life is. A lot of thoughts ran through my head in those ten seconds. I realized that I had not told my family just how much I love them. I thought about my fiancé and our future together. I thought that there was still so much for me to accomplish—there was so much more that I could contribute to this world.

As I look back, I see this icy incident as a wake up call, a message from God telling me to get off my butt and take action towards my goals and dreams.

And so, here I am, setting out to accomplish a goal I had only seen take place in my head—to run a marathon. Two days after my icy encounter, I registered for the Chicago Marathon, taking place on October 7, 2007. With approximately nine months to prepare myself, I downloaded a 36 week training program off of www.marathontraining.com. It appears to be a manageable regimen, as it only requires running four days each week. With three off days, I intend to spend them in the gym, as I usually lift weights 3 days each week.

Click here to download an excel template of my
Running Schedule and my Weight Lifting Schedule.

Now between the running and the lifting, if I stay on schedule, I should be physically ready for the race. But my physical training is not the only thing that is important in my completing a marathon. I must also be prepared mentally to fight off the negativity from my body telling me to quit when things become difficult. Therefore, to start each day that I train, I will read some form of motivation in the morning—be it a motivational quote or an inspirational story—in order to put my brain in the right mindset, that of a positive frame of mind.

If you like what you have read thus far, you are welcome to train with me on my journey to 26.2 miles! Each day for the next 36 weeks, I intend to deliver to you your dose of “Morning Motivation” to spark the mind. After our mental lesson, I will layout the workout for the day. After the workout, I will then write a reflection on the day, expressing my thoughts and feelings on the workout and my progress towards the Chicago Marathon.

This is my first marathon, so I have never completed this workout. Therefore, I can’t make any gauranntees about its effectiveness. This is an experiment for me, and you are welcome to join me.

I am excited about the months ahead. Yes, the workouts will be painstakingly difficult at times, but isn’t that what makes the journey so great—facing challenges and overcoming them! It’s time to give it our all… and a little bit more!