My First Half Marathon Race
I always thought that running was ‘the impossible thing’ for me to do. Two years ago my husband started running because the doctor told him to change his habits. One day I decided to go with him and I ran for five minutes. After that I began walking and running three days a week. After six months I made my first attempt at a popular race of ten kilometers. I finished it alive. In November 2010 my record for another ten-kilometer race was fifty three minutes that was a very good record for a forty-year-old woman that had never run or done any kind of sports, apart from walking to take the tube or the bus. Then I decided, with my husband’s support, to run a half marathon race, this is twenty one kilometers and ninety five meters.
The training for this distance is harder than for ten kilometers. The amount of kilometers per week should be increased until forty five or fifty kilometers. This amount will cause an important stress to our body so it is recommended to combine running with other sports like swimming or cycling. I go swimming twice a week which helps me not to get injured. Muscles should be strengthened as well, so that the body will support the impact of running.
My first half marathon was held on January, 30th at ten o’clock in the morning in Getafe. That day was very cold and cloudy. My husband and children came with me. There, we met some friends and family so I felt like a movie star. Before the race started I had to do some stretching exercises and went running for a while. I stayed in the last positions when the race started because there were many fast runners, not like me. When I heard the race start, I got goose-fleshed and excited. I started running with the other three thousand and five hundred people. The first five kilometers were easy, five kilometers more - I was so happy and enjoying the race. My time in these ten kilometers was quite good, fifty two minutes. If I continued running at that time per kilometer I would be able to finish the race in two hours that was my wish. But the worst part of the race was about to come. On the thirteen kilometer my right leg began to ache. The pavement was tough in some parts of the route. So the six kilometers between thirteen and nineteen were terrible for me. When I saw 19 km. number, I don’t know why, maybe because of the energetic gel I had before, maybe because of the encouragement from the people who were there but I got through the weakness and the pain and started running faster. I burst out crying because I realized that I would make it. I had enough time, ten minutes left, to end the race – to run these two kilometers! I felt so happy, so proud. I saw my family clapping and cheering me up – it was amazing. I arrived at the finish line and the chrono showed 02:01 hrs… that was absolutely great, I had made it! I felt the most powerful woman in the world. It was my great success and the great success of the people who love me and helped me to do this too.
The experience of running, not just a race but running every day or every week is healthy and can make your body and mind feel real good.
Go for a run!
