I signed up for a marathon (!) / Leaving university crisis

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Today’s post is a dual theme! Part exciting, part crisis!

On a whim last week I decided to sign up for my first marathon. The United States Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio, to be exact. I’m so excited!!

I ran the 10K last year and thought the race was so much fun, but I never thought I’d be able to run a marathon. I really enjoy racing and have been thinking I want to go for it and do longer distances, but I never found a marathon in London that I really wanted to do.

Once I got the idea in my head last week it wouldn’t go away. Why can’t I run a marathon? I changed my vacation plans to make it to Ohio two weeks earlier, and $90 later I was signed up for my first marathon.

I’m using Hal Higdon’s 18 week marathon training plan because I’ve seen him recommended on a few blogs, and the plan seems doable for me this summer considering I have only four months to train.

In other news: I might be having some sort of crisis. My friend Clay reminded me that we’ve officially been out of college as long as we were in it. WHAT?!

How has it been four years since graduation?? I remember it like it was yesterday. In our minute-long reminiscence of school we recalled the time we left the newsroom to go to Long John Silver’s and got in trouble for not bringing our cell phones or telling anyone where we were going, which undoubtedly lead to newsroom chaos. As news editors at the Indiana Statesman, we were highly important, you see. Stories about lack of attendance at SGA meetings won’t write themselves!

I want to go back to ISU. Maybe for like, a year. But I want my current lifestyle and amount of money I have now. Basically I want my current life, but minus all the work. I guess maybe I could go to some classes, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t attend any more now than I did back then.

Another thing I miss about school is cheap rent. I paid $280 a month for a room in a two-bed apartment just off campus. I pay about $1,100 a month for a room in a four-bed house in London. Granted, London is a tiny bit cooler than Terre Haute, Indiana, but thinking about those numbers makes my heart hurt.

Does anyone else after being out of school for 4+ years still want to leave the real world and go back to college??

39 thoughts on “I signed up for a marathon (!) / Leaving university crisis”

  1. You could always do like me and work for a university! Best of both worlds. Well, the pay is crap (at a public uni anyway), but you get to be on campus everyday, and for me, there is nowhere else more inspirational…surrounded by people who are working really hard to make their lives and this world better. And you get to work with students who always keep things fun and interesting and make me feel younger than I am:)

    Congrats on the marathon! That’s so awesome.

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    • That sounds fun actually! I thought about working for ISU a while back but I wasn’t ready to leave London and terre haute really is not nice! Austin, however, sounds awesome!

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    • I agree with your comment about being with students who are working so hard for their future careers. In the creative art and media departments, there was so much inspiration and ambition. That’s what I miss most about college. Though yeah, I also miss my $330 rent!

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      • It’s true. So many inspirational people on a college campus. Though to be honest, some days I leave work feeling so inspired while others I leave feeling like a giant loser for not being as awesome as all of the people that I work with, namely the students who are doing so much and are going to go so far! Pros and cons.

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  2. I don’t miss college–I love having an income, a house and not having to deal with drunk and/or hungover people on a daily basis, but yes, I do miss the lack of responsibility (and the lack of required attendance). Can I just not show up for work if I don’t feel like it? No? Darn.

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  4. Are you CRAZY? Running a marathon is nutso! Well, count me as a nut, too, though I stick to half-marathons lately.

    Seriously, you’re going to have a great time training! I find Hal Higdon’s programs to be straightforward and super helpful. If you ever want to talk training or if you ever need inspiration – please contact me. I love talking about running!

    I miss the ongoing rhythm of school – project assigned, work hard/slack/work hard/relax/repeat, turn project in… NEW PROJECT! I feel like a job is all that work, but less of the fun of turning in a final project and moving on to new subject matter.

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    • Great time training?? I already need inspiration! I haven’t put on my running shoes in a month, and today was my first training day – 3 mile run right when it decides to be hot and sunny in England. The whole way I was like: WHY did I sign up for a marthon? HOW am I going to do this?? I had to keep reminding myself that before my little break, I ran 5 miles and it felt good the whole time. How many marathons have you done?

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      • that’s the ticket! slow and steady training. the training is 95% of the marathon, so hopefully you enjoy a lot of it.

        first inspiration tip: sign up for Runner’s World “Running Quote of the Day”

        Here are two examples of recent quotes that might be inspiring for you:

        (1)
        Running is the classical road to self-consciousness, self-awareness and self-reliance. Independence is the outstanding characteristic of a runner. He learns the harsh reality of his physical and spiritual limitations when he runs. He learns that personal commitment, sacrifice and determination are his only means to betterment. Runners get promoted only through self-conquest.

        Noel Coward, English playwright, composer, and actor

        (2)
        The biggest reward of marathon training is confidence. A 20- or 22-mile training run cannot be purchased, and it can’t be rescinded. You are the owner of that strength, and it is a powerful force when life tries to knock you down. You have evidence of your tenacity, your ability, and your passion.

        Laura Saladino, Runner’s World Challenger of the Week

        One last idea for my first blast of inspiration toward you- we could do a dual training run…set ourselves to run the same distance at the same time (or at least on the same day or weekend). Having a training buddy is a great way to build fun and accountability into a training program. Let me know. I can do anything up to 10 miles right now.

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        • I LOVE those quotes! I’m going to print them out and put them on my giant mirror below my training schedule. Thanks!
          Doing a dual, international buddy run sounds so fun! I love bloggers/blogging so much. I will definitely let you know. I think my runs start getting up there in mileage pretty quickly. Perhaps next weekend, because I’m having to move my long runs during the day this week since I’m working late.

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          • well, i’ve always said I’ll do another one…but I might be “one and done” – we’ll see.

            The marathon time commitment is just so much more than the time commitment for a half-marathon. With the marathon, it changes my life to train. The half-marathon means just being slightly more disciplined than I already am. Does that make sense? It was definitely a life-changer for me and I loved the experience…but it’s kinda like visiting a new country and wanting to go back, but life just gets in the way.

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            • I’ve been thinking about that a lot too. I’m really going to have to buckle down and spend most of my free time training. It’s pretty intense. Hope it’s worth it! I think it will be 🙂

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