Times change, and so do we.

I am at the Gloriette overlooking Schoenbrunn Palace and the entirety of Vienna.
I am sitting on petrified wood, legs dangling over the edge of one of Theodore Roosevelt National Park's dusty buttes.
I am at the tip of the Washington Monument.

Regardless of place and time, I feel I have reached a summit.

Since October, there have been many changes/decisions to make:

-I graduated with honors in December. "What do you do with a BA in English???"
-Turned 23 and am no longer an applicable target for Taylor Swift's "22" (THANK JEEBUS)
-Obtained a temp job with an insurance agency. Pros: slowly mastering office life, have an income. Cons: Office Ass, too much energy to be contain on a chair in front of a computer, still don't know what I want out of life.
-Finalized plans to return to NoDak for a second round of seasonal alcoholism and a higher position with a really shitty pay increase.
-Quit smoking
-REGISTERED FOR MY FIRST HALF MARATHON

I have been an athlete since I was 3. I participated in dance, baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, and cheerleading. I only became a runner when I was 17 and about to become a high school senior. I played on a girls' soccer team as a junior and was out of shape and slower than I'd like to have been. I couldn't keep up with other players and I hated it. One day something changed in me and I woke up feeling empowered, determined and energized. During the summer I trained myself to run hard and run often. I began making healthier eating choices. When school started again, I signed up for a gym membership, which I still have today, 5 years later. I ran the fastest mile of my entire travel soccer team, which I also joined that summer and played with in the fall. Then spring arrived, and I was twice the player I had been the previous year. It felt so good. I was a starting player and was also voted to be one of the team captains.

I'm still not sure how or why these moments of abrupt change manifest themselves in my life.
And I am so happy they do. I have to work hard to stay in shape and maintain my figure. And I love running. I've wanted to run a race like this since I started running. My high school didn't have a track team, so I never had the opportunity to train. However, I have run 6 separate 5k races in the last 5 years, so I'm somewhat familiar with the atmosphere of distance running.

This half marathon will be an enitrely different experience, most certainly. 13.1 miles. I can't wait. I felt registering before I leave for NoDak will keep me focused and motivated all summer, and running in the bad lands is a truly unique experience.

I am writing this post to savor the feelings I am experiencing, to organize a time line of sorts of my progress, to pat myself on the back and to have something to look to for motivation. While I am often unable to commit to many things or people, I feel I am committed to running. That's one thing, more than nothing!