Fast, easy, fun – 13.1

My adventure this week was a very cold, very challenging half marathon. I’ve run other halfs before, but never when the starting temps were below freezing and when I was recovering from a 12-week bout with the Whooping Cough.

The original idea was to run a half in my town. I’m not much of a runner in the everyday sense of the word. The road doesn’t call to me. I never feel the desire to lace up my shoes and go for a run. Honestly, I only took up running as part of my weight loss journey. But I do love organized runs. I like being in the group at the starting corrals as everyone stretches, sets their watches, etc. I love the sound of my feet and hundreds (or even thousands) of others hitting the pavement. I love to read people’s t-shirts and to see crowds cheering on the runners. Mostly though, I love the finisher’s medal. Something tangible that says I just ran 13.1 miles.

So this last weekend I ran the Austin 3M Half Marathon. It was a cold start – 26 degrees with the wind chill. My fingers and nose may never forgive me for the pain of that first mile as my body heated up from the workout.
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Just over 6,000 other people had the same idea I did. Once I got running though, I felt far worse for the spectators. They had to be freezing. At least I had my body heat to keep me warm.
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I was very out of shape but I finished in a decent time and I felt good about getting my year off to a healthy start.
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But mostly, I just loved getting my medal
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I can add it to the others I’ve already collected and those still to come as a reminder that every step is a step toward my health and happiness.

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