YeS! We DiD It!
My First
(and maybe last)
1/2 Marathon
Training: It all started with innocent jogging this last Spring. In the wee hours of the morning, my running partners and I, Tara and Michelle, ran the trails and hills around town. We thought it would be fun to run in a 5 K race at the end of the summer. Feeling good at conquering 3 miles, we thought, "What the heck, let's just do a 13.1 mi. Half Marathon!"
The middle of August is when we started our rigorous 10 week training. Speed work on the High School Track, Tempo jogs around town, and Long runs on the Chipman Trail kept us in shape.
Halfway through our training, my right knee started to swell up. I iced it and rested a bit, and it healed up pretty fast. But, then the next week my left ankle was painful and swelled up. It hurt to walk, let alone run! I stayed off of it for a week and half. A trip to the chiropractor fixed my ankle in time to do our 10 mi. long run. The rest of the training went well. We were ready!
Race Day: First things first, you know, shopping! We bought our 1/2 Marathon T-shirts.
After quick stretches we got in line for the race. It was a beautiful course along the Snake River. The paved trail was mostly flat and was an out and back. The first half we did a little fast so I was tired. We slowed down a little after the turn around. But we still made our Goal Times.
Michelle: 2hrs.5min.
Shari: 2hrs. 8 min.
Tara: 2hrs. 10min.
Whew! What a hard way to stay in Shape! To best describe it was, Hard, Long, and Rewarding!
Acknowledements: I couldn't have accomplished this goal by myself! There are so many people to thank! My Husband for supporting me and not complaining through all my training and early bedtimes. My children for their encouragement. My sister for a listening ear and nursing me back to health. My family, friends and clients for all of their support and kind words. And last but certainly not least, my good friends and running partners, Tara and Michelle. Whom I could not have done this without. Talking and running together made getting up at 5:30 am not only bearable but fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
