My Raceiversary

Today is the three year anniversary of my first half marathon.  I can’t believe it’s only been three years.  That morning, I didn’t know if I would be able to finish the race.  And since then, I have completed a total of 22 half marathons, a marathon, and two triathlons.

As I have said with my running story, I went through some pretty scary health issues in 2010, and on this race morning, I was terrified that I wouldn’t finish.  I had a plan, and I had solid training behind me.  I just had to keep going.  Having never covered 13.1 miles before, my biggest fear was the sweepers.  I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish in 3.5 hours.

I don’t remember a whole lot about that race, because I think I spent a lot of time just thinking about continuing to move forward.  But one thing I do remember is looking at my watch around mile 10 and realizing that I had plenty of time left to cover the last 5k.  Well over an hour, in fact.  And I knew that I could probably walk it in and still finish within 3.5 hours.

That race remains my 5th fastest half marathon.  I’ve learned a lot since then, and I’ve learned that I enjoy slowing down a bit and enjoying the journey.  I still have races where I want to push for time, and sometimes I surprise myself with speed, but I also enjoy going out and running with a friend, chatting through the miles.  And at Disney races, I’m sure to slow down and see the sights.  I don’t often stop for character photos (long lines), but if there’s a short line or a cool photo op along the way, I pause for a few seconds to capture the memory.

I admit, I’ve done the math multiple times to make sure that I’ve got it right.  Only three years.  Amazing.