I Survived My First 1/2 Marathon!

My original Fit One challengers and 107.9 Lite FM "Walking Warriors" half marathon team mates opted to do shorter courses or were injured or moved. So for the week leading up to the walk/race I thought I'd be taking on the 13.1 mile course on my own. My sister Tami came to my rescue and said she was up for challenge if I was. Neither one of us are runners but we hoped our combined zumba/hot yoga/belly dancing/bike riding experience might help us on our quest. So basically we were clueless, intimidated and felt like we were in waaaaay over our heads when we showed up at the starting line Saturday at 7am. We encountered lots of serious runners and other's who'd gone all out with costumes.

I'd done a little research and decided rather than trying to wrap our heads around the concept of covering 13.1 miles on foot we'd break it up into 13 mini one mile races with a 15 minute goal for each mile. This actually worked out pretty good for us and we surprised ourselves by covering each mile in about 11 minutes. But we used the little extra time left in each mile for porta potty stops, to grab a drink, retie/loosen our sneakers or so my sister could adjust her sweaty underwear. (Oh, yes you did Tami and I am proud of how matter of fact you were about it!)

Our goal was to cover the course in under 3 hours (it took us a little longer) and not injure ourselves to the degree that we'd be hobbling around and gimpy for three weeks after the event. (Yes, we are both a little sore today but it's tolerable and should pass in a day or two.) We decided that the first 2 miles were the hardest along with mile 12.

Mile 1 - Starter's Gun sent the pack hurtling down the road. Hard to hold back and not run like the extra's from "The Walking Dead" were chasing us. Did a light jog to start and then transitioned to a fast walk at what we were convinced was the end of mile 1. Except it wasn't. We probably started walking about a half mile past the starting line.

Mile 2 - We figured out that we couldn't talk, jog and control our breathing at the same time and that ONE mile is a lot farther on foot than it is via a bike or car.

Mile 6.5 - Halfway mark! Surprised we're still moving and we aren't dead last! Optimistic that we can finish this thing! Hoping the mile 7 marker has a porta potty. (It did!)

Mile 12 - Really!?! We have to go UP the hill on Capitol Blvd to the Depot? As we ascend the hill the weight of all the miles we've already covered starts to mess with us mentally and physically. We are so close to the finish line but this mile is never ending. This is also when I felt a sharp, strange sensation on my right foot. Later I found out that my toe next to my big toe is swollen (broken?!) and the toe nail has turned dark grey. Is that a runner's thing? I'll gave to google it. Hope I don't lose the toenail.

Mile 13 - Spot the 107.9 Lite FM booth and the adorable Treasure Valley Drill Team! After lots of High Five's and encouragement from the girls and some razzing from Joe E we rounded the corner and headed down the hill towards Ann Morrison Park.

Finish Line - We dug deep and found our last little blast of energy to sprint the last 100 yards! We did it! We finished our first Fit One half marathon! (you'll see us just past the 6 minute mark)

My sister and I learned something about ourselves over those 13.1 miles. We can accomplish more than we think we can.  Now we will never underestimate what we are capable of because no matter how daunting it may be at first, anything is achievable if we break it up into smaller goals and take it on at our own pace.