It has been a while since I have posted anything about my upcoming race in January so I thought I would update my progress. I have now reached the one month away point in my training and as the days have ticked by I am getting so excited about this opportunity. My room is booked, flight taken care of and park tickets (3 Day Park Hopper) in my hands. I know that I will be on my way soon as the holidays will provide more than enough fun and craziness to make the time fly by. All of these things have made me realize that this is going to happen and that I cannot wait for the experience in my future. All of these things also could be a major distraction in the final month of my training and so I am determined that I will be prepared no matter how difficult it may be to find the time.
I think one thing that I have learned through all of my training is that discipline in one area of your life can carry over to other areas as well. I have never been a dedicated runner and thus I have never been able nor felt prepared to run long distances. The physical discipline necessary is something that you have to build up to and so patience is definently a virtue. Patience is not my strong suit and so this has been an excellent lesson for me that I can build to something greater if I give myself enough time to get there. My distances have been slowly increasing and so has my confidence in my ability to complete the half marathon in the time allotted. I have realized that running has led to better eating habits, getting proper rest and much more energy for my other daily tasks. It is great to realize that there is a better me out there and all it takes is some hard work and dedication.
The underlying reason for all of this still is the opportunity to be in Walt Disney World and live out a dream. I am writing this on the 110th Birthday of Walt Disney and the more I learn about this amazing man the more I realize that these opportunities are why he created this magical place. The passion he had to make his own dreams come true has lead to millions of people being able to dream in many special and amazing ways. I love to just sit on Main Street after a long and tiring day and just listen to the music, watch the people and slowly be one of the last people to leave the park. The quiet sounds are when I can dream the best and when I realize how much I love this place. I know that as I run down Main Street I will have a huge smile on my face and later that night as I sit on Main Street I will smile even bigger as my dream has been realized. Thanks Walt, I owe you one.