I've never been much of a dedicated runner. I have started and stopped a few times over the years and never kept with it long enough to build up good endurance. I always just felt awful when I would run and hated doing it. But over the last year I've been trying to build strength and focus on my fitness. I was surprised and happy to see that after keeping with it for a while, I could actually run 3 miles without stopping or feeling like I was going to die. While running a few times a week, I also did some Jillian Michaels workouts almost daily and they really helped me build strength. I had never been able to do a real push-up and now I can do 10 easily! I was again happy and surprised to see that those workouts actually worked! My runs kept getting a bit longer. I would usually just set out to run 3 or 4 miles and then push myself if I was feeling good. One day I planned for 6 miles and ended up pushing myself to do 10. I realized a half marathon wasn't that far off and something I could actually do. There weren't any races to sign up for in the near future and I didn't want to stress myself out with a training schedule for a race months away. Plus I had a knee injury and wasn't sure if that would return. So I decided to just go ahead and run my own personal half marathon.I think one of the reasons I have gotten more into running lately is the incredible trail system here. There are so many greenway trails that connect all over the city and they often pass around beautiful lakes and are always lined with trees and so green. Many Saturday mornings we have all headed out first thing and found a greenway trail that starts at a playground and Ben and I have taken turns running the trail while the kids play. It's been a good way to get out and explore the area. And since I don't usually get much time to myself, I have really loved the quiet time I get when I can go for a run by myself.
The American Tobacco Trail was the perfect spot for a half marathon. The whole trail is over 22 miles long. (It was formerly a rail line that served the tobacco plants and warehouses in downtown Durham.) It's mostly shady and flat. Most of my longer runs had just been roundtrip routes or loops that I did multiple times so it was fun to actually run 13 miles one way and see how far it looked on a map. I started early Saturday morning at the very end of the trail and ran 13.1 miles in one direction. Ben and the kids greeted me and cheered me on at the end of my run. I wasn't sure how I would do but I felt great the whole time and never had to stop. I kept a pretty steady pace and I was so glad to have cooler weather (it was 48 degrees when I started). I didn't even feel like I was going to die at the end! It was fun to see the kids with their sign. Ben has always been a runner and was so supportive of my "training" (I didn't really do much intentional training since I didn't decide to actually run the half marathon until maybe a month before). He would watch the kids whenever he could so I could get out for a run and he would encourage me to go. After I finished my half marathon, he ran the return trip back to where I had parked his car. It was fun to run our own little marathon relay that morning. And nice that someone else was sore with me for the next few days.
I've been trying to run a few times a week since the half marathon and I've actually shaved over 2
minutes off of my average mile pace. I haven't
intentionally been trying to run faster, I think I've just been getting
stronger which is nice to see. Although now I have to contend with the heat and humidity of summer...
