Decisions, Decisions

I have a couple of decisions to make in the next week or so -- and I don't know why I can't make up my mind.

I need to decide whether to run the Big Lake Half Marathon on Saturday (yes, less than a week away). And, on a bigger scale, decide if I'm up for training for a full marathon.

The first one is a relatively easy decision. I told myself if I ran 10 miles yesterday (which I did) that I'd sign up for the Big Lake Half in Alton. So I guess that's what I'll do -- despite the fact that the 10 miles wasn't a great run.

I'm hoping I can attribute a less-than-quality run to the fact that I stayed up until 12:30 a.m. the night before, probably didn't fuel up as well as I should and felt as if I just need to get the run in so that I could make my 10:30 a.m. can't-be-late appointment to head to Maine for the day.

So, with my mind set on running the half marathon on Saturday, I guess I only have one decision left to make: Should I train for a full marathon?

I almost typed "Can I train for a full marathon?" but then decided to change it to the word "should" because I truly think (thanks to my experience with TnT) that I can do it.

Last year at this time, I never imagined that I could run a half marathon -- let alone be preparing for my fourth of the year already. And I know the people I've watched train for full marathons with TnT never thought they could do it. But they did.

And I can, too.

Despite that (sometimes wavering) sense of confidence, I still can't make up my mind about whether I should give it a try.

For starters, I can't decide which full marathon I'd like to try. I'd love to run the Chicago Marathon -- which would give me a chance to meet up with college friends and see the city where I lived in high school and college. I've thought about the Toronto Marathon -- which would bring me back to the city where I was born. And I'm considering the Maine Marathon -- which is on the next TnT training program, is nearby and would lend the support of fellow TnT-ers and family members.

Even if I could decide which one I wanted to try, there's part of me that wonders if I'd have the time I'd need to properly train. I also know that training for a full marathon will take a lot of dedication and some changes in lifestyle habits.

With the nagging part of me that keeps saying that the half just isn't enough, I'm sure I'll eventually get there. I just need to decide when, where and how.