The Road to a Half Marathon

Here I am the day I decided to do the race...

My first day out running with my boys...

My first 5K
Here would be the picture of me finishing the 1/2.....instead here I am with my amazing family :) And a few pictures I took on the morning of my would be race just to compare.
How in the world did I even dream this up? I never imagined I would have been interested in running a half marathon. It all started when my amazing sister in law saw a pamphlet about a 1/2 marathon in Galveston. I figured I would walk/run it and it would be a special memory for us to share. I started training the very next day. Two miles seemed like a good place to start so there I went on my treadmill proud that I was getting started. Two miles turned to three and then to four. A few weeks passed and I had managed four mile runs nearly everyday at this point. I was still about 16 weeks out from the race so I decided to keep up with four miles and wait until the race got closer before I really stepped it up. I found an on-line training method that said it would get me from three miles to 13.1 in just twelve weeks. I printed it out and followed it religiously from that point. 12 weeks from the race day I packed up the stroller and began running with my boys. I love my boys and wanted to share this new joy I found with them. I made every single run. I found a way. We went out of town and I packed up the stroller and brought it with me. It was a new way of life and a new passion of mine. I was really enjoying being an athlete again and my boys enjoyed our morning quiet times together watching the sun rise and enjoying the fresh air. I packed up the entire family and they cheered me on every step of the way in my first 5k. I didn't even know how to use a timer chip! It was a charity run in Galveston and was the perfect race for a new runner. Oh and I creamed my goal time and shockingly won my age group finishing third overall female. Still can't believe that one...totally surprised! Now I was really on fire and excited about the fact that I was convinced I could RUN the entire thing. The runs continued to get longer and longer and at each new interval I wasn't sure I could handle bringing the boys along. The stroller is heavy with a four year old and an almost one year old! But, this was something we had started together and I wanted to finish it together also. So they came with me when my weekday runs started at three became four then became five. Every Saturday I did my "long" runs alone and cherished the small "me" time I got every week. Every Friday night I went to bed nervous about the amount of miles ahead of me in the morning. Then each Saturday I woke up and knocked it out, enjoying every minute of it and arrived home proud of my accomplishment. I was a nursing mother of two running ten miles before my kids even got out of bed. I was on a total runners high! I was dying to get out there and race tomorrow! I knew I could do it in under two hours as all my pacing kept me running closer to 8:40 miles. I dreamed of running each mile in under 8:30 when all the adrenaline mixed with race day energy. I had one more tiny two mile taper run left on Wednesday and then two days of rest and then the 1/2 on Saturday. I had a mild cold for about a week but was determined to shake it in time for the race. On Tuesday I set out to do a three mile taper run and ran the slowest I have since I began training. I just couldn't catch my breath and felt terrible by the time I got home. I decided to call the Dr. since the race was just days away and it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I was sure it was a sinus infection. Since then I have been to way too many doctor appts and still no real answers. All we really know is that my lungs aren't moving much air making it difficult to do just about anything without getting lightheaded. After all you got to be able to breathe! So tomorrow I will sit on the couch and ponder Gods mystery and maybe dream of doing another 1/2 some day...!!! And take massive amounts of steroids and inhaled breathing treatments trying to maintain somewhat normal functioning. Headed to the Pulmonologist on Tuesday, hopefully they can shed some light on the problem and give me answers. In the meantime thank God I have such an awesome family who has all jumped right in to help me with the boys (jessica!!!!!)...and listened to my sobs as I let go of my pride over this race. I'm still letting go of this race...man I can't believe I am letting go of this race! I was only two runs away from finishing my goal! I am thankful for my amazing husband and the fact that he has been able to take off work early the past three days to help me. I have never been so weak in my entire life. Keeping up with my boys in an impossibility. I am very thankful for insurance that covered my echo cardiogram yesterday so we didn't have to pay $700 to find out the problem is not in my heart. I can't even imagine how much the pulmonologist would be without insurance! I'm thankful...I'm thankful...I'm thankful...but still oh so disappointed! I always finish what I started. I NEVER quit!! I have a goal and I see it and I do it. Now all I can do is pray that I learn whatever lesson God is trying to teach me with this saga...and try not to be too bummed tomorrow morning when I won't be crossing the finish line.