I remember deciding in December 2016 that I wanted to run a half marathon. I was just getting into running, having just started the month prior, and knew I needed a big goal if I wanted to keep myself motivated.

I found a half marathon that was going to take place in my neighborhood in March 2017. The price was going to go up on January 1 so as a gift to myself, I signed up. I felt excited, scared and exhilarated.

I had such a long way to go with training. At that point I could only run about 3 miles without stopping. I worked with a personal trainer for strength and conditioning and then ran on a treadmill a couple of days a week after work. I had no plan and no idea what I was doing. I don’t recommend this approach but it worked for me at the time.

I still remember race day. The race didn’t start until 5:30 at night which is unusual. It was hot and humid and since I had never run that distance before I had no idea what to expect. The farthest I had gone was 10 miles.

I started off slowish. It was so hot and the sun was full force and there was no tree cover. I remember at mile 3 seeing a sign that said “you’re almost done” and it made me laugh because I was so far from the finish at that point. I just took it slow and steady and was able to run the entire race without stopping. Well, other than water stops. To this day I still have not mastered the art of throwing gatorade down my throat while in mid stride. I imagine that when I try (and I still do sometimes) that it looks like a person intentionally waterboarding themselves.

My goals that day were as follows in a very important order:

1. Don’t die

2. Cross the finish line

3. Finish in under 2:30

I was able to accomplish all of them.

I limped home afterwards and got on the internet and started looking for my next race. That night is when I decided I wanted to try and run all 50 states. And that’s how my addiction started 🙂