Today marks the first day of half-marathon training for the Lincoln Half-Marathon on May 7. I’m following the same training plan I’ve always used, which is the Novice 1 program from Hal Higdon. I am nothing but a creature of habit.

I decided to use “Motivation Monday” as a way to motivate myself and hold myself accountable on this journey. I plan to share my previous week’s runs, talk about what went well and not so well and everything in between. I just hope by doing this it documents my journey from square one to getting back to 13.1 miles.

You see, a little over a year ago, a half-marathon would have been no big deal. I had run four of them, plus a variety of smaller races. In fact, a year ago this past weekend I scaled the First National Tower in Omaha for Trek Up the Tower. I had plans for 2016 beyond that, too. The Lincoln Half-Marathon, another half-marathon in the fall, Boys Town’s Memorial Day Run and more. It was all planned.

And then the accident happened. I wish I could explain what that did to me, but the recovery from the burns, the internal injuries and my own mental health were a lot to overcome (and I still am overcoming them some days). I was given the OK to start running late in the summer, and I did here and there, but then football season came along and I figured I’d get back to it eventually.

Today is eventually.

I was supposed to run three miles. I ran two. They weren’t fast miles, but Jacks and I trudged along. By the end, my lungs were on fire but my legs and my brain were thanking me for what I had just done. For someone who never liked to run all that much, I somehow became a runner over the years. I guess I didn’t realize how much I had missed it.

I know this won’t be easy. I haven’t been on a regular run schedule in over a year and a lot has happened in that time. But I plan to dedicate every step I take in this journey to all those miles I personally lost in 2016 and to every single person no longer here to keep going on their own journeys because of drunk drivers. That will keep me motivated.

And it will make crossing the finish line on May 7 incredibly special.

Erin