April 8, 2012

It’s hard to believe that 2 weeks from today, 2 weeks from this very moment, I will be running my first half marathon. The girl who didn’t run, unless she was being chased. The girl who joked that the whole reason she was a brown belt in karate was so she wouldn’t HAVE to run from someone chasing her. The girl who thought nothing of jumping on a bike and peddling 75 miles (yes, in one day), but running to the mailbox was out of the question.
2!! Weeks!!
It started in Oct. When I ran my last 10K and was so terribly unprepared that even beating my Peachtree time wasn’t good enough. When my legs started protesting less than a mile in, and they hurt for 2 days straight. Laying in bed that evening unable to roll over. Struggling to get myself to the airport, and fly home on legs that just didn’t want to move, ever. I swore then that I would never run another race that unprepared. I started running at least 3 days a week. I got someone to coach me ( www.uphillrunning.com ), and in Jan we started weekly workouts. Only ONCE did I “cheat” and do the workout on the treadmill. Some weeks were tough. Some workouts were tough. But, I got through them. And now here we are at 2 weeks from the half. What have I gotten for all my training?
Well, I’m not really faster. I’ve learned the value of intervals, but the combo of walking and running still puts me around the 15min/mile mark. But, last week I pushed myself. I had a 12mile run on the schedule and something in my head said “If I can do 12, I can do 13” so instead of going out 2miles to the turn around point and coming back (after 8miles). I went 2.5 miles before turning back. I’m not gonna lie, it was hard. It sucked. I cried around mile 12. But, I did it. And what’s more, I was still able to do about my day. My legs weren’t dead. Oh, they were tired, and I had some knee pain that I had to ice, but, I still took my daughter to her friends house, I still fed my friend’s dogs. The next morning I was able to get out of bed. All things I wasn’t able to do back in Oct after that 10K.
This is all progress. Even if I come in dead last. Even if I come in past the 3.5hr course limit. I have still gotten myself to the point where I can do a half marathon.
And you know what, last place crosses the same finish line that first place crosses.