a dream to run

I didn't do sports in high school. The only P.E. class I took from 7-12 grade was a summer school session. I started exercising sporadically in college- working out for a month or two at a time and then taking a month or two off. In 2005, I started running.
It was something I always hated and wasn't very good at, but I got it in my head that running a marathon would be a great life accomplishment.
While on a summer project, I was mentored by an older woman who ran the '05 P.F. Chang's half marathon. She really encouraged me to try it. I ran a lot that summer, which was great because I was living in Newport Beach. Unfortunately running became like all my other exercise endeavors, and I was never going to reach the goal of being able to run a half, let alone a full, marathon if I was running sporadically. Sometime in '06, I peaked at 5 miles, not even half the distance of the race.
In January '07, I bought a Nike+ system for my iPod so I could track my running progress and start a new year with a new resolution: to finally run that marathon. I started well- running 20 miles that month and again in February and March. But I dropped down the next three months, not running at all in July and August.

When I moved to New York last August, I felt like it was a fresh start. I had none of the endurance I had built up previously because of my long break. I spent the fall just getting to a place where I could run 30min. without stopping to walk. On February 19th, I started a half-marathon training schedule that should have me ready by June 8th. I don't have a race picked out yet, but the training is going great.
Today, I ran 5 miles! It felt fabulous (afterwards anyway). I'd been dreading the run since yesterday, but I told myself I had to do it if I was ever going to really run a race. I needed to stick to a schedule once and for all. It took me three years to get nowhere with this plan, but now was the time to see it through. When I hit that 5 mile mark, I felt so good I knew I'd be able to stick with it this time. Perfectly in time with end of my run, my iPod was playing JoDee Messina's "Dare to Dream." We can be strong and do anything, if we dare to dream. I'm not giving up again on this dream. I'm not wasting any more time.