Bib #3683

26.2 With Donna Half Marathon
Jacksonville, FL
February 13, 2011

Here is how it ended:
2,497 Place
3:37:18 Gun Time
3:34:17 Chip Time
16:21 Pace

Here is how it began:
Last October, I signed up to walk in this half marathon (13.1 miles) with my sister, Heather, and our friend, Lisa. When I registered, they requested my estimated finish time. So, I called my sister to see what time she had entered. She said, "Two hours." Two hours? We won't finish 13.1 miles in two hours. I was walking 7 miles in two hours at this point. But, I did as she said so that we would be together. When we picked up our packets, my bib was blue and Heather's was gold. Huh? Taking a closer look at her bib revealed that she had entered four hours not two. HEATHER! If they make me walk with the two hour people, I will get trampled! Thankfully, that did not happen.

It was colder than I expected it to be for Florida, but it was perfect weather for this event. The national breast cancer marathon and half-marathon began near the Mayo Clinic Campus in Jacksonville, Florida and followed the course through the unique beach communities of Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach. The course detoured onto 2.5 miles of beautiful hard-packed sand on the Florida coastline. I took pictures at every mile marker. We even ran a little (down hill). It is really cool to see all of the people that come out to support the runners/walkers. They yell out your name and you think, "how do they know me?" I kept forgetting that my name was on my bib.

One lesson that I learned from this experience is that you must train for this type of event. I basically went from the couch to walking in this event. Do not do what I did. Running/walking a half marathon is both physically and mentally demanding. For those who have never run/walked this distance before, it is imperative to train correctly. It is advised to slowly build up endurance over a three month period; decreasing the intensity of the training in the last couple of weeks before the event. If the body is over-worked, injury is more likely to occur. It is also important to eat correctly and stay hydrated before, during, and after the race.

It was an awesome experience and I am amazed what I accomplished. My plan is to do it again next year. Thank you to my sister for encouraging me to sign up, to Lisa and her husband for opening their beautiful home to us and showing us a great time in Jacksonville. Thanks to my mom for dropping us off at the airport, my other sister for picking us up (we expect you to join us next year) and my husband and boys for loving me and letting me experience a half marathon. Finally, to my Weight Watcher friends that cheered for me this morning a big thank you for always supporting me!