I have received several emails asking how I prepared to run the 1/2 marathon. I thought that deserved its own blog post. Before Dawn, I liked to run. Kevin, Callie, and I enjoy running 5Ks together. We have probably ran 20 over the past 5 years. That's about as far as I have ever ran. The thought of running for farther than that really intimidated me. Dawn started me on a training program and we also started interval training. I could not run for more than 2 minutes at a time without thinking I was dying. She started me off running for 1 minute and walking for 4. We did this interval for a couple of weeks and then we moved to a 2 minute run, 3 minute walk. When she left, we were running for 3 minutes and walking for 2. This was of training really worked for me. I didn't have to run the whole time, but I was pushing myself to run faster and longer. When Dawn left, Kevin started running with me. He is great at pushing me. He loves to run and is really good at it. He can run for miles and not think anything about it. Me, on the other hand, always thinks I am dying. We went to Tennessee for Thanksgiving. Normally on Thanksgiving we get up early and start eating. This past Thanksgiving we started a new tradition. We got up early Thanksgiving morning and ran a 10K. It was freezing, but so much fun. We really enjoyed doing this. The plus was I got to see my old college roommate, Tara, that I hadn't seen in years. The day after Thanksgiving, my training program said I needed to run 7 miles. Kevin and I headed to the State Park to run. We lucked out and there just so happened to be an 11K race going on. What great luck was that?! The 11k was a little rough, but we pushed through. Before the 1/2 marathon, I was running 3 days a week. The most I ran was 11 miles. I figured I could crawl the last few miles if I had to. Luckily, the training paid off and I didn't have to crawl to the finish line. I actually ran! I will definitely run another 1/2 marathon. The feeling I got when I crossed that finish line was unbelievable. I am so proud of myself! Next time, I will be running with Dawn and Kevin :).
Make sure you click through the pictures!
