I just found out that I’ve been accepted to the ING New York City Marathon 2009. Since there’s always a very large pool of applicants, there is a lottery system for the entry to this marathon. I submitted my application sometime in May, right after watching the four Biggest Loser semi-finalist complete their first marathon.

If they can do it, maybe I can do it too…

It’s only after I submitted my application that it sort of dawned on me that I’ve entered into a contract that if I am chosen, I’ll be paying $171 for the marathon fee. If I back out, I would have paid $171 for nothing.

Just before the lottery results were announced, I started to doubt this spur of the moment decision. A marathon…6 hours of pain on marathon day, not to mention the discomfort of over 16 weeks of training to run 26.2 miles. I think I was hoping that I would not be chosen.

But I was chosen, so it’s a bittersweet thing. Sort of like “Yayyy!!! Oh no….”

I’m kind of excited that I have the opportunity to participate in the NYC Marathon. If I can endure through 6 years of graduate school in the US (so far) and the chronic stress of dissertation research for the past year and probably another 8 more months to go, I can endure 6 hours of running/walking. It’ll be great that when I finally reach the finish line because then I would have completed something from start to finish this year.

Dissertation research can get very disappointing, especially when it drags on and on and each day only results in one data point. So many more uncertain days to go. It’s also sad when I see friends finishing their research and graduating and I’m still here, struggling through another day for another data point.

I guess I’m trying to run off the frustration!

Anyway, here is my brand new marathon training blog: Run Ailsa Run