Putting in the Miles

Well, I never thought I would hear myself say this, but I ran a half marathon! It all started after we miscarried and I was coming off all the hormones. I wanted to feel like I could do something for myself, something I could control about my health. So after talking to my friend, Jodi, (who was training for a marathon at the time) I decided I would do the one thing I never thought I would ever consider doing... run. At the time I could barely run only two miles.

I was starting to go for walk/runs with my friend, Alisa, (who just had a baby at the time). So I asked her to start training with me and before I knew it we were signing up for a half marathon with only three months to train. I was really proud of Alisa for taking on the challenge, her baby is just six months old now and she has already gotten down to her pre baby weight. She's awesome!!


It's amazing how in just a few months your life can revolve around your running schedule... what you eat, drink, how you sleep, and your social affairs. I used to tell everyone how crazy they were for working so hard on something that makes you hurt in the end... but now I know why.

The race was awesome! It was very small in the small town of Ocean Shores Washington. I think there were less than 100 runners. It was 6 1/2 miles one way to turn around and run back... I think because the town was too small to keep running forward.

There was a good three miles we ran on the ocean shore, and it was so beautiful! The other majority of the run went along beautiful authentic beach homes. It was so much fun to be so occupied by the scenery!

The weather was only 65 degrees and over casted, it felt so nice after being in 90 degree dry heat. There weren't very many volunteers or mile markers, so I tried to keep my enthusiasm by high fiving and cheering on all other runners & bikers who I passed or who passed me. My step dad, Tom, used to run the St. George marathon and I remember how much he enjoyed it because of his positive attitude- so when I started out the race I told myself I wanted to just enjoy it and take in the moment. I'll be honest, I was passed a lot the first half, but I also ended up passing a few people I tried to compare myself with in the end- so I didn't feel too bad about myself! :)

There was a point when I thought I still had probably close to three miles left and I knew I was okay to do it, but ready to see the finish line... that's when a volunteer let me know I only had a mile and a half to go!! WOOOO HOOOO!!! I jumped and screamed and my girlfriend got a picture of me in my enthusiastic moment :)

I felt pretty good throughout the race, and felt like I was keeping a good pace. When all was said and done I ended up running my goal time. It would have been awesome to have run a little faster, but I'm proud of myself for working toward my goals!


So I've discovered a few things through all of this... 1. I do have some competition in me, and it is me! I can win over myself! 2. Gu is my friend, I don't care how "gooey" it is! 3. Guns and Roses and Justin Timberlake can take me through a lot of miles, I don't care what anyone else says!! 4. It's okay to do things for yourself if it's going to help your own image of yourself! I have no desire to run a marathon, but I can certainly say that I'm all about the 13.1 miles... and I'm looking forward for my next and hoping to beat my previous time. I also have to thank my biggest supporters- Alisa, Julie, Heather, Jodi, and of course my Barty! Thanks everyone for pushing me and encouraging me when I didn't think I wanted to do it!
Way to go Alisa!! We rocked our first half marathon together, I can't wait to run another with you!!!