A year ago, if you would have told me that I would be all set to run a half marathon just a few days from now, I would have said YOU’RE CRAZY.
13.1 miles. That’s a long way.
Travis and I have been training for the Country Music Half Marathon since the first week of January. At the beginning, running just a few miles was a struggle. I’d been running off and on since the fall when I ran the Liz Hurley 5K. Travis had been doing no exercise at all. I remember thinking…how are we ever going to run that far?
It’s really amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it.
I’m convinced that running is mostly a mental thing. I really knew that from my days of running cross country and track back in high school, but I definitely believe it now. Of course, you physically have to keep going, but mainly it’s a game in your head. Should I stop to walk or just keep going?
On our long runs, I’ve found this to be especially true. The first few miles are the hardest, ironically. Once you get past the thought of having 8 or 9 MORE miles to go, you’re ok. At some point, usually closer to the end, you’ve been running for so long that it’s not quite so bad. Physically, it hurts worse…your legs are killing you. But, mentally, you just keep going. You don’t even consider stopping until the end. It’s weird how that happens.
The longest training run I’ve done is 11.5 miles. (What’s an extra 1.6 miles when you’ve already gone that far?…haha) I had to stop and walk a couple of times to drink some water, but other than that, I ran the whole thing. I think I finished in about 2:03. That’s 2 hours and 3 minutes…lol. My goal time for the half marathon this Saturday is to finish in 2 hours or less. So, I’ll have to pick up the pace a little bit. We’ll see how it goes! The course is supposed to be pretty hilly, so I’m nervous about that, but I’ve always loved a good challenge when it comes to hills!
Travis’s hip is feeling much better this week than it has been. He went to the chiropractor several times over the past few weeks, and I guess that really helped. His goal time is 2 hours also, but I’m predicting that he’ll smoke me! I’m blaming it on him having longer legs than me… :)
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| High school running days |
“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.” -Sam Mussabini
