I am not sure I have words to describe this feeling. I literally never in a million years, thought I would ever run a 1/2 marathon. It was always something other people did. Surely someone like me could not run for 13.1 miles. Surely not.
Last Spring I started the Couch to 5k plan, yet again. If I had to guess, I'd say this was the 4th time I had restarted it in the last 5 years. A few times before I had actually completed it, only to quit as soon as the first 5k was finished. I repeatedly told myself and others that running just wasn't for me. Some people are just built for running and some are not. I am not completely sure what lit the fire under my ass this time, all I know is I was determined not to quit.
After signing up for the Disney Princess half marathon, I got a training plan going and just got to it. The path was riddled with issues. Problem after problem arose. Pain in my knee/leg/hip brought me to an orthopedic doctor and PT. PT was close to impossible when you are a stay at home mom to 3 young kids. I went when I could, which admittedly wasn't often. Shortly after overcoming that, I was diagnosed with kidney stones. Not fun people. Passing a stone is horrific, the surgery to remove the 6 or 7 remaining stones left me with a stent that was also horrific. Eventually though, I got better. I went into Christmas vacation thinking well there is no way I will run a half marathon in February. I set out for my first run in weeks and managed the 4 miles my new training plan required. And then, I just kept going.
Two runs during the week, and one long run on the weekend, gradually increasing the mileage. That's all it took. Nice slow pace, and even that eventually got a bit faster. As I did longer runs, my shorter runs got a bit quicker. As I lost more weight, even my long runs picked up speed. In another post I will tell you about the amazing supplements I added to my routine, they have made a world of difference in both my pace and endurance.
I didn't really set a goal, but in my mind I wanted to be between 2:45-3:00 for my finish time. Somehow I blew that out of the water!
This week I got an email with my official results, and I have to stay, I did way better than I ever expected.
This whole journey has been so amazing. I accomplished something that I never in a million years thought I would. It means so much to me that I followed through on this. And no, I'm not giving up running now either. This is just beginning. ;-)
