I did it! Weeks and weeks of training and I completed my first full marathon on November 12, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas.
My running journey began on November 19, 2016 when I ran a 5k with some coworkers. At the time I hadn’t run in years and couldn’t finish the 3.1 miles without some walking. My time was 34 minutes.
Then my sister thought it would be “fun” to do a Turkey Trot 10k. I hadn’t really trained but thought what the heck and ran/walked that in 1 hour and 8 minutes. But I was proud. I had started something.
From there it kind of took off. I wanted to push my body farther and see what it could do. I signed up for a quarter marathon on January 7, 2017 and was able to run that without stopping in 22 degree weather (living in Houston that temperature still makes no damn sense). After that I felt like I could do more. I signed up for a half marathon in March and the Avon 39 in April. I was able to run the half marathon without stopping and trudged through 39 miles of walking for breast cancer awareness in the Avon 39. I was officially addicted to running and wanted to continue to challenge myself…so I had the crazy idea to sign up for a marathon, and I DID IT.
In one year I’ve gone from not being a runner, to not knowing who I am without running. I’ve cut over 6 minutes off of my 5k, over 12 minutes off of my 10k, and over 18 minutes off of my half marathon. I’ve run 22 races, including 4 half marathons (my 5th this Sunday) and 1 full marathon. I’ve gotten healthier and stronger. More important than the physical gains are the emotional ones. Running is not about being better than anyone else, it’s about being better than I used to be.
Honest Running 