I've never really been the athletic type. I mean, I enjoy going hiking. I've got no problem with strapping on a snowboard provided the weather conditions are JUST RIGHT (hate to be cold). I've been mountain biking a time or two. Sports though? No way. I'm horrible. I have no coordination whatsoever. I was the one whose best friends were the athletes, but not me. I'd prefer to curl up with a good book, watch a movie, or a play. And of course, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to travel.
Well, after all this time I have finally found a 'sport' I can call my own. I suppose it works for me because the only person I'm competing against is myself, and at this point I have nowhere to go but up. It all started when I went to dinner with a girlfriend a little over 2 months ago. She is the athletic type, and was telling me about this marathon training program she is in. I thought she was insane, but for some crazy reason I committed to meeting her the following Saturday morning to see what the program was all about. "I'm telling you right now I'm not going to do the marathon", I said clearly. "I'll just see what the program is all about."
Well, that was a huge turning point for me. I have become completely addicted to running! Over the last 2.5 months I have watched myself go from someone who could barely run a mile, to just a couple weekends ago completing the Jacksonville Marine Corp Half Marathon. Crazy!
My first race ever was a 5K race for breast cancer, then I was training up to about 9 miles, then we had the half marathon. I was SO nervous about being able to do 13.1 miles. But I took it slow and steady, and finished strong. It was the best feeling in the world. I'm certainly not the fastest out there by any means (I finished in about 2 hrs, 28 mins which is an avg of 11.2min/mile). But the best thing is, I have found something active that I really love doing, and it really doesn't take a lot of coordination to run, just perserverance. As for doing the marathon? It's in February and I'm already registered for it!
Here are a couple pics from the half marathon. The first one is of us just before the race, and I was ridiculously nervous:
This one was after we finished...I'm not much of a beer person, but it just doesn't seem fitting to be walking around all sweaty with a nice glass of Savignon Blanc in your hand. And let me tell you, that beer was delicious after all that running!
