Adventures # 1, 2, 3 and 4

Sunday, I ran my first half-marathon. It was a hard thing to do. I lost faith in myself on the 9th mile and walked it. At the ten mile marker, I realized I had three miles left, an easy run after weeks of 6, 8 and 9+ mile runs through Tempe. I can do this, I can finish at a run. And though my run was slower than some of the walkers around me, I did it. I made it. I finished 13.1 miles.

Friends and family asked: "How did it feel?"

"It felt great!" I said, even as I nursed my knees, cheering for the Cardinals from my seat, feet propped on a pile of pillows.

"It was a great way to start off the new year," I added.

And it was. It was only the 18th of January and already I checked off one of my biggest goals of the year: This year I will run the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon - finally! (It had been on my list for five years.)

Another of my 2009 goals: This year I will find adventure.

I had anticipated that these adventures would be as big and bold as my half-marathon run. And some of them may very well be. But, as I discovered this past weekend, some of these adventures may be as simple as: 1) taking the light rail downtown; 2) finding a new (to me) restaurant and actually trying it (instead of wimping out and going to one of the places I've already been to); 3) getting my husband to take the day off of work and making it a date.

So...here's to the big (and little) adventures we'll have in 2009!

Looking for Adventure in Arizona

If you moved to Arizona because you enjoyed the outdoors, but seem to have buried your ambition beneath those everyday responsibilities, like full time work, family, spouse, and/or significant other and your mountain bike, hiking boots [insert favored equipment here] have been buried somewhere in the garage, shed or carport for so long you're not even sure they work or fit, then you have come to the right place!

I'm just like you - my biking, hiking and adventuring have been put on the back burner in favor of family, spouse and career. But, I'm back in the saddle (so to speak). I've decided to not only add adventure back into my life, but to share the experience, tips, resources and outlets with other moms, dads, married people, etc. who would like a little more (or any) adventure back in their lives.

Come back soon, I'll have posted a bit more about what I want to share with you here.

Until then!