A Big Fat Check

Yeah, I wish I could say this check could be cashed, but it's not that kind of check. It is however exciting to me that I get to check off what may have been the most difficult item on my big to-do list. On Memorial Day 2011 I ran 13.1 miles! Woohoo!!! (That's not what I was saying right after however - that sound was more of a groan.) I am really glad and proud that I did it! The training definitely came with more than a few challenges which makes me even happier to say I did it.

Let's start from the beginning though, shall we?

I have never been much of a runner. I remember cheerleading and tennis practices when they would make us run and I'd be huffing and puffing after 2 minutes. I HATED it. I never thought I would run over one mile let alone 13.1.

However, a few years ago I was sick and tired of not getting enough exercise, but couldn't bring myself to cough up so much money for a gym membership. Gone were the college days when I could go the the university gym for free. I had to think of something I could do for basically free and that was running.

So, as much as I hated it, I started to run. My husband and I even got a treadmill - nothing fancy, but it did the job. At first it was hard to run for more than 4 of 5 consecutive minutes, so it was more of a walk, jog, walk, jog workout. I was eventually able to do a mile, then 2. At this point in my progress my husband decided to run a 5K, so I decided to run it too. I trained hard for it and was so excited when I finally accomplished it (not without a little walking, I admit).

My husband and his sister, who ran the 5K with us, got such a high out of the race that they wanted even more. I sat back, proud of the 3 miles I'd just run, and said, "Good for you!" I in no way wanted to do more than I just had. Did I mention I'd never been much of a runner?

So I kept doing my 3 (sometimes even 4) mile runs, while my husband and his sister worked hard to do a half marathon. My husband would keep coming back from his long runs feeling so excited about the new milestones he was reaching. I was way proud of him, but still had the "good for you" mentality. He worked hard all summer and ended it by running the Park City Half Marathon! He and his sis did a great job! It was so exciting watching them at different points in the race and especially crossing the finish line, knowing the whole time how hard they had worked at this. I was definitely emotional watching them do something so difficult so well. That's when the seed was planted for me - it was pretty cool after all. Still, I let a whole other year of my "shorter" (3 miles is still not short in my mind) runs and another of my husband's half marathons pass by without signing myself up for such a commitment.

Meanwhile, my sister-in-law decided to train for a full marathon - crazy girl! She worked hard for months and would come to family events saying things like "I ran 18 miles earlier today." I told you - crazy girl! When marathon day came, we went to watch and I was overwhelmed by the number of people that had worked so hard to accomplish this. It was impressive. As I sat watching I said, "I want to do this!" I covered my mouth, shocked at the words that had just escaped. "No I don't," I corrected myself, but there was no denying it. I did want to do this.

It still took a few months before I actually did anything about the words that had accidentally escaped my mouth. I was scared to death! My husband, after much convincing, told me that we could do one together, so we signed up! That submit button was the hardest click of the mouse I've ever experienced.

I trained and trained over the next few months, increasing by about a half a mile to a mile a week on my long run days. I ran hills that I never thought I could. I passed distances I had once thought impossible for a short-legged creature like me. I became emotionally attached to the routes I would run. I worked HARD! I did it. On Memorial Day 2011, I ran a half marathon. I developed tendinitis in both of my achilles tendons and IT band syndrome but I DID IT! Later I'll tell you more about the actual race day, because it was a great day for me, but for now, I just want to say...CHECK!