Finishing the Timberline Half Marathon

The new year always brings new resolutions, goals, I committed to my first half marathon. Even though I didn’t officially sign up until April, I had already decided it was happening whether I trained and prepared for it or not. I also knew not preparing wasn’t an option, so I started to run!

I can’t say that I love running. What I really enjoy is accomplishing goals. Setting out on a five mile run I always dread the first three miles and then start smiling the last two because I’m almost home. I’ve struggled to finish a lot of things in my life and fitness is one place I stay committed to finishing. Health is important! Any hoo, my goal(resolution) was to run the whole thing…

In 2015, I signed up to complete my Spartan Race Trifecta. I earned it BUT not how I wanted to. I was training for the race and went out for a ten mile run, ended up running 16 miles because I got lost. That run messed up my left knee and forced me to walk a lot of my Beast, downhills are still mean! Since then, I’ve felt proud to have finished but felt like I could do better. That’s why I decided running the whole thing was the goal. 

This was the first race I had a friend that wanted to join me on. I shared in January that I was going to do this, Lisa jumped on the crazy train and signed up too! I was stoked! I’m so glad I was able to have her in my accountability groups sharing her running struggles and victories because it made me push harder and made me stick to the plan even if I didn’t feel like busting out a long run. Trust me, there were plenty of days I didn’t want to run.   

It’s interesting to think about the reasonings behind our races. She has been working towards a goal of being healthier and wanted to try it because running a longer distance was something she’d never done before. She realized a few weeks before our run that she wasn’t a runner, it isn’t something she enjoys doing. But she committed to running it and she did! Seeing the big smile on her face as she crossed the finish line was priceless. ❤️

One thing I enjoy about training for races is it gives me a deadline. I like being able to exercise and then move on to the next thing. Exactly why I love having such a huge variety of programs at my finger tips. I get to have that finishers moment but still get to work on staying healthy. 

I also crave the attention I get from my peers, doing something most people don’t do makes a girl feel good. I had some rough relationships as a young adult, had some tough moments with my parents growing up too (divorce sucks and I hate that my kids have to deal with split households too) and I guess that probably contributes to why I crave that attention. That’s something I’m working on, there’s only One I should be seeking approval from.

Finally crossed the finish line and it was a little bitter sweet. My goal with this run was to RUN the whole entire thing and I fell short. At mile 11 my left hip and knee were toast. This is one reason I’m huge on proper form, if you are building muscle up in the wrong way, you are setting yourself up with a higher risk of injury. I thought my left knee was good but apparently the little bit of compensating I was doing impacted my hip. It’s crazy how even a foot injury can impact your shoulder or neck. Our bodies are so complex! The impact of jumping from rock to root to dirt wasn’t something I trained for and that’s a big part of why I suffered through the last few miles. (I say few because the total was 14.4 miles, I believe.) I spent time training on gravel roads, some dirt trail and mostly my treadmill, not rocky rough terrain. My heart wanted to run the whole way but I ended up walking around a mile of the race trying to get my hip to relax. 

✨Lesson Learned: Sign up for a road race if that’s what your training on! ✨

Would I run it again?!?

Of course I would! On my way into the boonies, I was debating if I would try to push for a full marathon next year. After the race, I was already trying to find my next half and trying to find a good full. Of course my hip has been giving me grief and I’ve only tried running once since, but I still have big dreams for longer races and staying race ready year round. Wanna join me??? 😘