Challenge: complete a half marathon a month
I came up with a brilliant idea yesterday while I was sitting at home while my husband, Chris, was out for his weekly long run (3 hours) - he is so dedicated! I was feeling guilty because I was not out there also, so I started to think of ways to motivate myself to keep running. Soooo, I said to myself “why not run a half- marathon a month?!” So, here goes nothing…
For those of you who’ve known me for most of my life; you know I used to hate to run. I could never comprehend why people decided to spend more than 1 minute, let alone hours, of their day running. I have always participated in sports that involved running like lacrosse, basketball, softball, and soccer. I am an athletic person (Dad’s side) but I had other things I was doing while I was running. I tried in high school to run as I had friends and twin sisters, Cameron and Melissa, who ran on the cross country team. I never made it more than 1.5 miles at a time. I would get terrible shin splints, be short of breath, and get just plain bored.
It was not until the winter of 2007 that I decided I would like to try this running thing I kept hearing people talk about. I had gained a few (is 10 a few?) extra pounds after college and needed something other than just doing the elliptical for 30 minutes at the gym. Chris, who has been running since he was a kid chasing his sister on her bike, helped me come up with a running plan where I could start small and build my way up. 13.1 miles was not even a thought in my mind. I was just hoping for 1 mile at a time at that point. I started by running for like a minute then walking for like 3 minutes then running another minute then walking another 3 minutes and so on. I eventually got up to being able to run 30 minutes at a time. The key was Chris telling me I did not need to run fast and reminding me my goal was just to run for as long as I could. I think that is what really changed my opinion of running. Realizing I did not have to win the race to enjoy it.
My first race was the Gasparilla Distance Classic 5k (Cam and Chris ran a 15k) in February 2008 in Tampa Bay, FL. Cameron was living down there at the time and Chris and I went to visit her. The race just so happened to be the weekend Chris and I were visiting Cam. I remember the conversation I had with her very well. She said, “There is a race the same weekend y’all are going to be in town so why don’t you do the 5k?” She must have asked me on a good day because I accepted the challenge. I remember being so nervous I would finish last, because when I say I am slow I mean sloooooooooooow. After I finished I was ready to conquer the running world – runners high? I think so!
I continued to run after my first 5k and but was unable, and a little afraid to run more than 35 minutes at a time. As a side note, I prefer things to be divisible by 5, so running 34 or 36 minutes was just out of the question. Feeling stuck where I was, I to challenged myself a little more and decided to start training for a half marathon in the Fall of 2008. I just love Chicago, and my family who lives there!, so I decided to run the Chicago 13.1 in September of that year.
Chris and I made the trek there by car on a Friday. We went to the Expo downtown on Navy Pier on Saturday with my cousins Katie and Brie (Chicago cousins) to pick up our race packets. In my opinion the best part of running these races are the t-shirts you get AND THE MEDAL!! It was raining on Saturday and did not stop on Sunday. Hurricane Ike had just hit the coast and made its way up through the states to Chicago just in time for race day. When I say it rained the entire race I am not exaggerating. And I wouldn’t even say rain, more like a downpour! We were drenched by the end. Our clothes actually started to foam because we think the water mixed with the detergent from our clothes. But I FINISHED! I finished 2:22:00!!! Much faster than I had anticipated!!! I just wanted to finish before 3 hours, which is when the “slow bus” picks up people who are not on a pace to finish under 3 hours. I was terrified of the “slow bus”!!!
The next race I completed was the St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis, TN in December 2009. I ran with my sisters, cousin Katie, cousin-in-law JR, and friends of Melissa’s from STL as a part of a team to raise money for St. Jude. We all had so much fun. No one had trained for it. I do not think I had even run a mile in two months before the race, but everyone completed it. My favorite part of the St. Jude Half Marathon was running through the St. Jude campus and seeing the kids who are there getting treatment and hearing them cheer everyone on! So emotional and inspirational! We all plan on doing it again in December and I cannot wait!
So after all of that, I would like to run my first 13.1 of 12 in September. I am not sure which race I would like to run but I am excited to start this adventure.
Official training starts today. Here goes nothing…
