Only HALF Crazy

seeing my family on the last stretch

As a 2010 New Year's resolution I wrote down the lofty goal of "become a runner."  Charlie was just over 2 months so I had some baby weight and just extra weight I wanted to lose.  I wanted to run because I always hated running. 

Jenny and I with our medals

I liked the idea of running.  You just need yourself and a pair of shoes.  No gym, no instructor, no equipment--it's the most basic exercise.  The only way to really be good at running is to do just that-  Run.

Training for a race is goal setting at it's finest.  After making my goal I went to the track and ran one lap (1/10 of a mile) and that was all I could continuously run.  One lap.  This was going to be harder than I thought!  Run a lap, walk a lap, repeat, repeat, repeat.  A week later I would run two laps, walk a lap, repeat, repeat, repeat.  After doing this and progressing for a couple months, I signed up for my first 5k here in town.  I finished in 3rd place for my age group (probably because I was 23 and other 23 year olds are off at college, but hey, 3rd place!)  I kept running and thought maybe I would train for a half marathon--something I had always wanted to be able to to say I did.

I trained through the summer and up to 8 miles of running.  At the end of summer, we decided to get pregnant with Joey!  The race I was working towards was in November.  I scratched that goal and decided to be really smart during Joey's pregnancy.  Eat well, exercise hard but not too hard and be consistent.  I didn't want to throw away how hard I had worked.

I felt GREAT during Joey's pregnancy.  Of course all pregnancies are different, but I think a part of that was because I was taking such great care of myself before and during his pregnancy. I kept up my endurance, not with running but using the elliptical machine and other things easier on my body.  After Joey was born and I start really exercising again I found that I still had endurance.  I had to retrain myself to run, but I wasn't starting back at square one.

waiting for the mommy's to run past

Marathons are either in the fall or spring and I definitely wasn't running one in the fall.  I exercised for fun and then decided to pick a race after the new year started.  I picked the Joplin Memorial Half Marathon.  I picked it because it gave me lots of time to train, plus the money would go towards something I thought deserved it.  Joplin was the city almost destroyed in last year's tornado.  It's just an hour north of us.  116 people died.  Schools and hospitals were wiped out and they plan on years for the city to recover.

I signed up for the marathon and printed out a free 12 week half marathon training schedule.  I printed out my own blank sheet so I could fill out all the exercise I did. I knew I could commit to 3 days a week of training, but that didn't give me any room to miss a day here or there.  I would look at my sheet and progress when I wanted to skip a day.  That gave me the motivation to be consistent.

Tony helped me reach this goal.  He comes home from work around 4:30 so at 4:30 I would run my routed course through the neighborhoods.  He would have dinner ready for me when I got home.  He would run the house on Saturday mornings so I could go to the lake and do my long runs.  He encouraged me to keep going and told me he was proud of me.  He's the best...love you Tony :)

The night before the big race Jenny and I drove up to Joplin.  Our families would be coming up the next morning. We picked up our packets and checked into a hotel.  My first night away from the boys!  Unfortunately I had to wake up at 4:45AM, but I slept great!  We woke up, stretched and packed onto the bus with other runners.  I was nervous and excited!  I didn't have any time goals for the race.  I only wanted to run the entire thing even if that meant running at a walking pace.  

I started with "Eye of the Tiger" on my ipod and started running on the gunshot.  There were water stations every 1.5-2 miles and they were life savers.  The course was wonderful. The first half took us through the cemetery, and a beautiful wooded park/neighborhood.  Most of it was in the shade!  The last half was in the sun and it started to get hot.  I was thankful for my 4:30 runs during mid-day heat!  The best part of the race was when I started looking for my family.  I knew they'd be anywhere after the 12 mile mark.  I first saw Charlie playing with along the road with a stick.  Next I saw Tony with the camera out.  I gave him a big kiss that he said tasted like seaweed haha.  I sprinted the last quarter mile and it felt so good crossing that finish line!

I finished 31st in my age group (364th out of 741 women) with a time of  2:22:16--a 10:52 mile pace.

 me and my reminder

I've learned so much from this experience.  That's why I wanted the sticker on the back of my car!  Now every time I load groceries I will remember that I was able to accomplish something that seemed impossible to me.  Exercise has helped me deal with stress, anxiety, crazy hormones during pregnancy and baby blues/postpartum depression after.  I've gained self confidence by reaching small goals.  I've learned to enjoy getting sweaty and dirty.  Our family has become more active as I have worked towards this.  We eat healthier and more adventurous.  I know I am strong and can push myself harder than I think possible.
I did it!  I finally did it!
And I have no desire to ever run a full marathon.  That's just crazy.