With all the running around I do as a working wife and mother, you wouldn’t think I’d want to add to my plate; and yet I have. For some odd reason, last December, I decided that it would be a great idea to sign up for a half-marathon.
I have been running, just for exercise, for many years but have never been in a race. The longest distance I had ever run, up until last December, was six miles. A half-marathon is 13.1 miles. What the *bleep* was I thinking? Aside from the physical challenge of building up that much endurance, there is also the matter of finding the time to run as often as is necessary and for the long periods of time. Time is not in abundance in my life.
By coincidence, an old friend of mine is also an amateur runner and has decided to join me in this challenge. Sarah and I grew up and went to school (from K – 12) together. We have been friends for as long as I can remember, although we don’t see each other often since I moved away from my hometown several years ago. Sarah is also a working wife and mother. I guess since we’ve spent so much of our lives doing the same things, at the same time, we have now decided to share a midlife crisis.
The challenge has proven to be a tough one but Sarah and I are hanging in there. I’ve got a gimp hip and ankle, Sarah has had recent heart surgery (don’t worry – she has her doctor’s ok to train for the race), and both of us are wondering why we ever thought this was a good idea. I have been setting my pace by outrunning the deer flies and Sarah has been doing her training as late as 9 or 10 o’clock at night, because that’s the only time she can squeeze it in!
By the time you read this, I will have completed the annual, five-mile Blueberry Run in Machias. (I know, right? I’m nuts!) At this point, five miles doesn’t seem so bad, as far as distance goes. But, since I’m about as speedy as an arthritic snail, I don’t expect to actually win anything in the Blueberry race or the half-marathon. But, if any of you are interested in seeing a grown woman cry, vomit, and possibly faint, then just be at the Bar Harbor half-marathon on September 17th. Sarah and I will be the ones sponsored by Zoloft and Red Bull. Hope to see you there!
