You never forget your first time

My first half marathon was October 9, 2009. It was the Westchester Running Festival sponsored by Westchester Medical Center. The start line was at Westchester County Center at the Bronx river Parkway and proceeded South to Scarsdale and then back up to the finish at County Center.

The day before my husband and I decided to drive it - BIG mistake. It was a LONG drive! I do much better when I don't know what I'm getting into. The next morning we all met at County Center. It was cold and we were all a bundle of nerves. It was pretty well organized except that they ran out of running bibs and had to hand write mine.

My friends and I found our spot with the slow runners near the back of the 700+ runners. We stayed together for most of the time but at about mile 7 one went ahead and one fell behind. I was on my own. There were entire mile stretches where I got lost in my own head - with only a handful of runners around me. I was able to high five my husband as he was headed back North while I was running South. He seemed to be making great time - ahead of another friend who is always placing and winning trophies. That gave me a big burst of speed. For some time it felt like it would never end but I remember be shocked to suddenly see the county center. It seemed to rise up over a hill and I truly couldn't believe I was going to finish this thing. I got it done in 2 hours and 42 minutes. My husband finished in 1 hr 51!

My friends weren't so happy with that race because they didn't like that it was there and back as opposed to a big circle. What I didn't like was that by the time Ifinished no one was there to cheer me in! Just really my friends and family. Massage booths were shutting down already. They actually ran out of medals and had to mail me mine weeks later. What a bummer! Regardless we were all very excited for each other. We trained properly. No one was injured or so incredibly sore. It was a grand finale to a season that began without being able to run 60 seconds a few short months prior.

Runaway train

By now I had gotten the racing bug - I really needed to consistently set new goals for myself to keep me moving and on a schedule. Over that Spring and Summer I pushed myself from the 5K to a 10K a, an 8 mile and finally took the plunge and committed to my first half marathon - Westchester Medical's Half Marathon which takes place up and down the Bronx River from White Plains headed south and back. I couldn't believe I was doing it. It was a very sureal committment - did I just sign up for that?

My husband who was a, well shall we say - quarterly runner...yes, once every 3 or 4 months at best was inspired by my enthusasm and hopped on the schedule with me. We began alternating days and he signed up for the half as well. Turns out he's a very fast runner and a competitive one at that! Not with me - he beats me by a mile - literally.

Our new goal brought us closer - something new and not about the kids and we both would excitedly share the next distance milestone story with each other. We could talk endlessly about our runs, our hydration choices, what we think about while running, music selection and just the mere fact that we were actually doing this!

Not only were we reaping the physical rewards of running but it was bringing us together in a whole new way, it was forming a nice bond for me with my running friends and it was allowing us both to challenge ourselves in a way we never had even thought possible.