Let’s talk about lofty goals, shall we?  I always love having a big, broad goal put out there in front of me to chase.  I’m a stay-busy type, a dream-chaser, a go-getter, a keep-reaching-for-more sort of person.

Some might call it ambition, some might call it being anxious or restless, I just call it being me, and it’s what I’ve always done.  As I get older, I’m able to find words for it and better able to find strategies to harness it, and today it takes the form of big bristol boards plastered on my bathroom walls and notebooks tucked into my purse.

Lately, I’ve been searching for some more carrots to chase, and if you follow me online, you’ll know that I’m currently in peak training mode for the New York City marathon, coming up on November 3rd.

Facebook: Dr. Ashley Worobec

Instagram: @ashburlington

Marathon training on Instagram: @thisismymarathonlife

I’ve been running with a great Oakville-based group for the past couple of years, and in them I’ve found other people who don’t think it’s crazy to get up before 5am to run, who also plan their weekends around their workouts, and who enjoy the well-earned fatigue that training brings.  I’ve found my tribe and suddenly my crazy seems normal.  When I joined them in November 2017, my goal was to run a half-marathon fast enough to qualify me for New York.  I’d failed to meet the qualification standard twice on my own (once in spectacular fashion: “Then the Wheels Came Off“), and only six months after I began training with them, I qualified with my Mississauga half marathon result.

But I still identified myself as “only” a half-marathoner.  I’d see their marathon training schedules, thankful for my shorter distances, and while I admired them from afar, I was content to plug away in my 10k/21k domain.  But then June 2019 rolled around, and my own New York marathon training officially began.  You see, NYC is a once-in-a-lifetime race for me, and I plan to run stride for stride with my dear friend Michaela.  We aren’t chasing the clock, we’re just two working moms who love to run and want to prove to ourselves that we can do this.  Somewhere along the way though, I’ve started to love the long stuff again.  I’ve started to embrace the big mileage, the early bedtimes, the huge appetite.  I’ve started to anticipate Sundays and watch NYC promo videos, I’m following marathoners on social media, and I’m researching race entries.  Just this morning, I looked up my age group’s Boston qualifying time (BQ) (spoiler alert: it’s 3:40).  WHO AM I?

So while I search for my next goal, thoughts of a BQ ruminate in my brain…..

Big dreams.  Big goals.  Just how I like it.