Explanation

My husband will affirm, with subtle traces of irritation in his voice, that I take the leap-and-the-net-will-appear approach to a great deal of my life.  Decisions come first- plans come second.  I decided this morning that we are going to get rid of our law school debt, (which has reached- no exaggeration here- six-figure status) and run a 100 mile race in 24 hours within 24 months.

Most people would call those "goals" rather than decisions.  I wish goals worked for me, but they just don't give me the mental kick in the butt that decisions do.  Decisions are public; goals stay comfortably forgotten in one of the 37 spiral notebooks that I bought specifically for the purpose of goal-writing at one time or another.  Here is why I feel like I have to make these decisions:

100K down in debt-

It's disturbingly common for law students to have six figures in debt, and part of me really wants to dismiss my husband's law school loan figures as normal.  Right now, I have exactly the life that I hoped to have at the age of 26.  I have the clothes (well, most of the clothes) I want.  I have a nice apartment.  I live in Colorado.  I work at a great school as a choir director.  Seriously, this is the life I have wanted since the 7th grade. (I was a practical, nerdy 7th grader.) But I know, as tough as this is to admit, that my lifestyle is borrowed.  The practice of living comfortably, and even occasionally luxuriously, while we have mounds of debt in the closet doesn't reflect the faith that I want to have.

100 Miles

Well, I figure as long as I'm making really impossible decisions, I might as well throw a 100 miler into the mix. I could have just set a 50 miler as a goal, but then my blog title would be even less catchy.  The origin of this goal actually comes from when I was little and watched psychotic ultrarunners hobble over the finish line while my dad blared some excerpt of a (I think) Beethoven symphony at the Arkansas Traveler 100.  On top of that, I saw that a girl from my high school recently completed a 100 miler.  I have been ignoring the fantasy of training for a 100 miler because A) too "busy" B) hardly anyone my age tries to do one C) I don't want to mess up my sleep schedule for a day and D) It's a hundred freakin miles.  However, the chick from my high school is A) a single mom! and B) my age.  That's beyond impressive to me.  Anytime anything happens to someone you went to high school with, whether they had a kid, got fat, or got cancer, it's bound to make you reflect.  Thanks for the inspiration, Kristen!

So that's a brief explanation of the what and why.  I'll be the first to admit these decisions are a little outside the realm of reality, but sometimes, I think God blesses outrageous plans more than he does reasonable ones so we can't ignore his involvement in them.  We'll see!