My Running Story: Continued

After running my first 5K with pal-Megan, we decided that the next obvious goal would be a half-marathon. Now, if you say this is a lofty goal, I would agree. We didn't know the first thing about what it takes to train and run for a half marathon, however I believe this innocence is what allowed me to do it!

Our 5K was in May 2009 so we choose a race in November to give us plenty of time to develop strength and endurance. We blindly choose the Wynne Marathon, which we later discovered was one of the flattest races in the nation. Score! So, the easy part was over - finding a good race. Now the hard part - training for it. 

The toughest lesson I learned was this: running in Arkansas summers SUCK! If you can run through the summer, you can run through anything (except this summer; this summer was 100% unbearable). We started off slow and steady, keeping a strong 3 miles under our belt. We stayed at the 3-5 mile marker through June and July. Once August hit we began increasing our mileage. 6. 7. September. 8. 9. October. 10. And this is where it came halting to a stop. A dead stop to be exact. 

See, pal-Megan is a life-saver, aka. a nurse at Children's Hospital, and in October her working schedule was switched. She was changed to a night nurse, practically an impossible schedule when trying to run with your gradschool-friend (me).  Not only were we unable train together, but Megan could no longer could run the race. AHHHH! I no longer had a running buddy.

What was I to do? This was a journey that I did NOT believe I could complete on my own. I would love to say that I was brave and fearless; that I continued on in my training despite the Megan-shaped hole in my running heart. However, my friends, I cannot say this. I actually did the complete opposite.  

To be continued