Some serious props for my man!

Tomorrow Taber is running the Hartford ING marathon. Any time anyone runs 26.2 miles they deserve some serious props, but today I'm giving him props for the incredible effort he's made just to get to the starting line. I signed him up for this marathon as a Christmas present. Merry Christmas honey, you have to run 26.2 miles! But first you'll have to log hundreds of training miles, give up sleeping in on Saturdays, and dedicate what little free time you have to get ready to do it. I'm such a nice wife : ) Seriously though, I think he was a little scared when he unwrapped the training schedule I printed out for him and started to process what I had just committed him to.

I gotta hand it to him though, he took up the challenge and went for his first run on Christmas day. He built up his base all winter and ran a half marathon in the spring. Then in July he really got serious and for the last 18 weeks has dedicated himself to the intense training required for a marathon.

Because he works so much and has limited time with the kids he made a conscience effort to avoid running if the kids were awake. As a result there were many days when I watched him come home from work after a long tiring day, play with the kids, help put them to bed, then fight past his exhaustion to lace up his running shoes and put in a run. He didn't have time to just sit and unwind. no time for TV, no time for surfing the net, just work, eat, run, sleep.

Saturday mornings were dedicated to long runs. Sunday's we have church at 9am so no sleeping in for him. He had to carve out time for runs on business trips and vacations, he had to run in the rain, in the heat, in the dark hours of the early morning or late at night. It was not easy and there were days he was ready to quit. But he never did. He kept at it, averaging 150 miles a month for the last 3 months. Surviving on 5-6 hours of sleep a night. If that doesn't deserve serious props then I don't know what does! I have been completely inspired watching him. He probably doesn't know this but when I'm up against a challenge in life that seems too daunting to tackle, sometimes I'll chant to myself, "Just BLT. Be like Taber!" (true story) : )

So props to you Taber. Can't wait to watch you get out there and kill it tomorrow!!