Motivation for Second Half Marathon

It's official.  I'm hooked.  I don't know what it is nor can I describe it (because I've tried to to Chad) the excitement of waking up between 4:00-4:30 a.m. and heading to a foot race.  Whether I'm running a 5K, 10K, or half marathon, I get excited.  A rush of adrenaline (I suppose that's what it is) races through my body.  I can't sleep the night before because I'm so excited, or maybe anxious and nervous for the next day.  I'm not quite sure what the feeling is, but I do know that I'm completely hooked on running, I don't necessarily enjoy the training, but the race itself I absolutely love.  Which makes the training worth every minute in the end. 

Since February I have been training for my second half marathon.  I ran my first half marathon about a year ago and when I finished that race I told myself I would never do another one. I even made Chad promise me that he would not let me sign up for another half marathon.  I absolutely hated the way I felt after the race...I couldn't walk for about 3 days.  Seriously, I COULD NOT WALK!  Quite frankly that scared me...a lot.  I was content not ever running another half, although my fondness of running was still there. 

So, like I said, back in February, a friend of mine came to me and said something to the aspect of, "I need to get my life back on track and I want to do something for myself.  I want to run a half marathon.  Will you do it with me?"  Way to start small, was my first thought.  (Did I mention my friend is a high achiever, determined and maybe a bit stubborn?  All great qualities, of course.)  My friend, not being a runner nor having a runners physique (her words, not mine) I thought at the time was crazy.  (She's still kind of crazy, but that's why I love her.)  She continued to share with  me that I could say no, but honestly, how do you tell a dear friend "no" when they reach out to you?

There we began, back in February...running.  Mind you, I had not done very much running since the last half.  Or shall I say long distance running.  My runs consisted of 1 maybe 2 times a week and at the most 3 miles.  I began with interval running where I would walk 2 minutes, run 2 minutes, walk 2 minutes and so on and so forth.  I had to build up my stamina again.  The interval running changed a little bit and when I could run a 10 minute mile comfortably, I switched from interval running to timed running.  I would run non-stop beginning with 20 minutes, slowly working my strength and stamina upto 10 miles, as layed out in our half marathon training schedule.  Now my friend and I did not necessarily train together, rather we were accountability partners.  It was awesome and an excellent motivator.  However, every Sunday after church we would do our "long runs" together.  Our first long run consisted of 2 miles.  Oh how easy a 2 mile run is right now.

In the end, race day came and we both successfully completed the half marathon, my second and my friend's first.  The difference between last year and this year...I could walk after the race and I immediately wanted to sign up for another half marathon.  It's a rush, a high that I don't understand.  Quite frankly it's down right crazy.  I'm so INCREDIBLY PROUD of my friend for running her first half marathon. I know how challenging it was for her, both physically and mentally...although I doubt she would share or maybe even admit that, which is perfectly okay. 

My new motivation for running is my dear friend who was determined and she did it.  She ran her first half marathon.  I'm proud of her. 

Now, onto another friend...she will be running her first 5K before the summer is over with!