Bellingham Bay Half Marathon - Sept. 30, 2012

                                        After the Race. . .
  

Another beautiful medallion hangs on the wall in my office. Last weekend I ran my 6th Half Marathon and finished in THIRD PLACE in my age group! The day was so much fun and rewarding that once again I am already looking forward to the next one, even though I am dealing with sore toenails at the moment--continuing the reoccurring theme of this blog. Yeah, I will probably loose a couple nails . . . again.

My hope in doing this blog has been to encourage someone to try doing something totally new that you never thought you could do. If I can do this at my age, you could, too! If this is the first time you've looked at my blog, when you scroll down and read old posts you can read about how/why I got started doing this and how I've progressed over the past four years.

PRE-RACE PREP TIME. . .

Last weekend's fun began on Friday night. Dave was going to be my 'support person' for the race since Duane was still working a summer job in Alaska but when Dave arrived from Seattle, Deb and Eric were with him! That was a total surprise for me. They had already done some other races this summer and they kept the secret that they would show up and run. This was our 4th year doing the Bellingham Bay race together.


On Race day morning the weather was perfect and the excitement and energy in that pack of 3,200 runners was thick. The course is known as one of the best in the NW. It is picturesque--even post card perfect along the way. Eric, Deb and I finished the race with good times and no serious aches and pains to slow us down. There is such a feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line after months of getting ready.

AND WE ARE OFF!

You probably have to experience one of these events to understand why I am so hooked and not even an athletic person to start with! I have always enjoyed doing a lot of walking and I am naturally a fast walker. When I was a kid my Dad teased about my 'late-to-the-boat' walk. If you are an old friend from where I grew up, you will know what he was referring to, trips to town on the THEO.

Gradually I added more and more running to my fast walking and now I am a pretty decent runner for my age. I have not had a trainer. I just figured things out through reading and much helpful advice from my son-in-law, Eric, who runs Full Marathons.

AFTERGLOW. . .

When I start training for a race in the spring, I usually run 3 or 4 miles every other day with a little longer run on the weekends. I keep increasing the miles and then I do a long test run a couple weeks before the race to help me feel confident that I can do the 13 miles. There are a lot of variables to balance: what to wear, good running shoes, what to eat before and during the race and how much water to take in as you run. I'm still learning what works best for me.  


If you enjoy walking, find a friend or group and set a goal to do a 5k, 10k or Half Marathon together. Many people at these events only walk when they start out. You could, too. I'd love to hear your comments (below) and if you  give it a try, let me know how you are doing. You just may surprise yourself.

As Dave said, Style is everything.

                                                                

                                  

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