Coach potato to 1/2 Marathon = 8 months

ST. JUDE MARATHON & 1/2 MARATHON - 2010

Emily, Natalie, Me & Penney - at my house before the race.

Wow .... if you had ever told me that I could finish a half marathon I would have laughed hysterically at you. Even after working out and getting into decent shape I still doubted myself.  Conquering this personal goal has been huge for me. I'm not a runner or long distance walker. I don't enjoy running or the long hours / distance of training. I'm still that self proclaimed "angry" runner. I have a bad knee and shin splints that flare up all the time. On top of that, I'm still carrying around about 40 pounds of extra baggage if you know what I mean!

However, I forgot about all of that the morning of the race. The excitement and positive energy in the air was awesome. Had I known how much fun the actual race day was going to be, I would not have whined and complained so much in the months leading up to the race .... I swear (stop laughing Penney)!

So this was my strategy - run the first 3 miles, walk up-hills and on flat stretches of the course after the first 3 miles, run down hills. For the most part I stuck with my strategy. I ran a little more then I thought I would. I pretty much ran from miles 11 - 13.1 because I was still so freakin excited. Don't let me fool you ... when I say run, I mean I jog slowly. My fear was that I would be the very last person to cross the finish line. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that 1,098 people finished behind me! (for the record, 5843 people finished in front of me. hehehehe) My unofficial time was 2:46:36 (clocked stopped for 2 potty breaks and posing for pics with Elvis and the Memphis Tiger). My official chip time was 3:00:20. I think that averages out to be somewhere in the 13 minute mile range (I probably average a 10-11 min mile when running and a 14.5min mile when walking long distances) As you can tell .... I like stats!

Up until race day, I swore to many folks that I would NEVER do this again. No way in hell would I even consider it. Experienced marathoners just laughed at me and said just wait until after the race before you make that statement. And they were right. I'm already looking forward to the St. Jude half next year. In fact, Penney and I are thinking about doing one in Little Rock in March. I bought a t-shirt at the Marathon Expo that says "13.1 - only half crazy." And that sums it up!

Friday night our out of town friends starting rolling in from Missouri. The Hammer's (our BFF's) came down from Union (Paige did the St. Jude 5k). Two of my friends from Cape Girardeau came into town (Emily ran the full marathon and Natalie joined us for the half). We carbed up at Lonnie's. Hassie Clare and Quinn were so excited about spending the weekend with Morgan and Jenna.

Saturday morning we (the runners) got up around 4:45am to prepare for our 5:45 departure time. We were all excited and nervous. We loaded up on water, caffeine and bagels.

The house guests.

The best training buddy EVER!

Next marathon (still sounds funny coming out of my mouth) I will take a camera with me to take pics during the race. There were so many cool things! The supporters were awesome. They had a band playing music about every mile. Several Elvis's and folks in costume. The Village People - amazing to watch hundreds of runners in front of you doing the arm motions of Y M C A. The most touching and emotional part of the event for me was between miles 4-5 when we ran through the St. Jude campus. I was overcome with emotion. It was the fastest mile I ran throughout the entire race even though I could not see through my tears. I wondered about how many parents had sat in the very parking lot I was running in and cried their eyes out for their sick child. I felt so lucky and thankful.

After the race - yes I realize my training partner looks the same as she did in our "before race" pic and I look like a hot mess:) I also realize that I'm holding a banana and a beer - perfect snack after finishing a half marathon.

Benji and Jamie brought all the kids downtown and met us after the race. We went to BB Kings on Beale St. for lunch and celebration drinks.

After a fabulous lunch, the Dad's thought it would be nice to take their little princess's on a Cinderella carriage ride around downtown.

We ended the night with cupcakes from our new favorite cupcake place, strong drinks with good friends and a nice, long soak in the hot tub. It was a fantastically, awesome day!

Our out-of-town company left Sunday around lunch time and Morgan reminded us to take our traditional "the Hammer's are leaving" pic.

Special thanks:

To my supportive husband for all of the encouragement and endless hours of holding the fort down while I was at the gym. To my Mom & Fred for all of those Tues. and Thur night late hours with the girls while I was at the gym or doing my long runs. To my friend and training buddy, Penney Lane, for just being you. My favorite part of this journey has been our blossoming friendship.

Penney and I - October 2010 - midway through training.

 So I set out this year to get healthier so that I could set a good example for my kids. But, somewhere along the way, it turned into me setting goals for myself which has made me stronger and more confident.  At times I felt selfish but in the end I realized that it is okay to do something purely for myself. I think it creates balance in my life and hopefully makes me a better mom. I've realized that exercising is a privilege and I hope I never take this privilege for granted again!