The Start

I have begun my quest to run the Boston Marathon in 2011. To qualify for Boston you must clock a 3 hour and 30 minute time. That is roughly 8 minute miles for 26 miles. Today I ran one mile. I live on a dirt road and from my drive way to the end of the dirt road is 1/2 mile. The out and the back is one mile. There are no other homes between my home and the end of the road. I am literally running through the wilderness. There is a hill at the beginning of the 1/2 mile and hill at the end off the 1/2 mile. My goal was to see were I am in relation to the 8 minute mile. I clocked a 8:49:15. I was sucking air to say the least. It brought me back to my youth when I ran competitively. The legs and arms like lead and the lungs a blaze with fire. That last quarter mile sprint when the sensation of your body is if you are running in slow motion. However today that was the complete mile. I have a way to go.
Why am I subjecting myself to this torment? Well it is a long story. Hopefully over the next year it will unfold. This is my Everest .