Saturday, January 1, 2011

Half Marathon, Check!


Months ago I decided it would be super cool to run a half marathon on 1/1/11. I'm not sure why that thought entered my head since I only began running last April. And also since I tend to take it pretty easy when it comes to physical exertion. I guess I got bitten by the running bug at some point and thought I could prepare myself to tackle 13.1 miles. Thus began a long 12 week training process, and I admit there were times when I felt like giving it up.

The most daunting setback occurred 2 weeks ago when my knee began hurting terribly during a 9 mile training race. I finally know what the cause of that injury is. My I T band is out of whack (a common running problem that causes pain by the knee.) I've been trying to work out the band, but I am still plagued with pain that gets progressively worse on any long run.

Because of this injury, I knew I would not be able to run the half as I planned and trained for, which was very discouraging. But, instead of pulling out of the race, I decided to run as much as I could and walk the rest. I ended up walking about 60-75% of the race today, but I was hauling butt at a fast walking pace. (Just ask the 2-3 people who were trying to keep up...)
That fast walking was not easy, either! I had trained to run the race, not walk it. Walking used some different muscles today that are going to be sore for a while! My friend Karen pointed out that I seemed to have a "hitch in my get-along" somewhere around mile 10 and she wasn't kidding! It got harder and harder to maintain a quick walking pace as the soreness kicked in at the end.

It felt so good to cross that finish line, hug my kids, receive a medal around my neck, and know that I basically went from couch potato to half marathoner in 8 months. Maybe today didn't go exactly as I had envisioned it 12 weeks ago, but that's just the way life goes. I did what I had to do to finish what I started and I look forward to future challenges as a runner in 2011. I think the first order of business is get this I T band problem healed. After that, the sky's the limit.

Half Marathon: 3 hours 9 minutes or so, official results are not posted yet.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Again...way to go! That's awesome!

Lindsay said...

That is awesome, Becky. What you did today is amazing. You continued through adversity to do something you always thought you were not born to do. I love telling your story to others.

Shari said...

Congratulations! You did great! -shari

Jenn M said...

So awesome! Way to go!

Quad Squad! said...

I AM SO AMAZED BY YOU!! YOU ROCK!! Congratulations on finishing the half-marathon! You are an inspiration!

And please, please, please be careful with your hurt knee! Jim injured his knees back in his running days and they have plagued him ever since!