My First Half-Marathon

I never imagined running would be one of my favorite things to do...in the past it was usually at the very bottom, meaning I hated it with a passion. I liked gyms, weight lifting, Nautilus machines. I started running in Thailand because there was no gym available and I wanted to excercise. In 2009 I decided I wanted to run more than a couple of miles, when I got my first MP3 player. Previously, my favorite kinds of music were classical, Van Gelis, Tangerine Dream, Seal, Kate Bush, and a few Christian bands like Jars of Clay.
Once I started running it all changed. I started listening to bands with a harder beat to help me keep going when I started feeling the pain of longer runs. And to block out my labored breathing!
I've added roughly a mile per month and this month I will be going for 11 miles. I have been training for a June half-marathon in Phuket, Thailand, but of course that had to be cancelled. So I found a new half-marathon in Fair Oaks, California, May 1st, along the American River. I can't wait, it looks so beautiful and it will be Spring by then, super gorgeous. There's a field of poppies along the way, and the theme is "green" so I like that, too.
I love the way the running busts the stress and enables me to drink in the natural beauty around me. I haven't felt this good or strong in years, and I got off the extra weight I gained the year before last. I thoroughly enjoy how so many of my friends are running, too.
I am starting to think about the marathon, now, crazy as 26 miles sounds right now. 13 miles sounded just as insane a year ago!

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