Eight years later, we're still kicking asphalt!

This week I've had time to reflect on how far I've come since training for my first marathon back in 2005. I was reminded of this as I ran my fastest half marathon on Sunday at the Heels and Hills half marathon with one of my very first training buddies, Jessica Andrews. (We missed you, Cara Shiver!)

Cheering on Cara at OKC Marathon the week before Vancouver in 2005

When I signed up to race my first marathon for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training (TNT) program back in November of 2004, I had just learned it consisted of 26.2 miles. Having never run more than two miles in my life before, I was a bit nervous but also excited as I would be doing so in memory of my grandfather who had passed away the prior year from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Training for this event didn't seem nearly as tough as what cancer caused him to go through.

Little did I know just how much it would change my life. Training for the 2005 Vancouver Marathon with a group who started out as strangers was so much fun as we became friends. It was amazing how people from so many different backgrounds were seen as equals once we laced up our shoes and took that first step out on the Trinity Trails. It didn't matter what you did for a living or what your age was, all that mattered was that we were there for the same cause. We definitely learned more about each other than we might have wanted to at times but that's what happens when you run so many miles together through cold or hot weather and sweat or snot rockets!

Jessica and I at the start of the Vancouver Marathon, May 2005

A lot has happened and changed since that first season. I worked for TNT up until 2011, participated in multiple running, cycling and triathlon events, but most importantly met my wonderful husband, Anthony. He too, signed up for his first TNT event in memory of his grandmother who lost her battle to one of the Lymphoma's. 

I could go on forever about other memories and what has happened since then but back to Sunday's race. I had planned out my race schedule early on in the year and planned to do the Heels and Hills half marathon on May 5th. I would be missing out on the fun Cinco de Mayo 5 miler race but I wanted an opportunity to redeem myself from the hot race of Rock N' Roll San Antonio last November. I was so much more diligent about my training the last few months and was excited to see through Facebook (you learn everything about everyone on the FB) that my buddy Jessica would be doing the race as well. Jessica has become such a faster runner since our first marathon together and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for me to get a better time if I was chasing her on the course.

We exchanged messages leading up to the race about how I would try and keep up with her and all I wanted to do was beat my prior PR of 1:59. I then said I would be ecstatic with 1:52...then I said I wanted to break 1:50. Race morning came around and I went back to saying, any PR is a PR as I didn't want us to feel pressured into not having some fun on the course. 

We had a blast!!! Mind you, this race sounds tough because of the name but it's pancake flat and to be honest, it's pretty uneventful outside of the "Men in Skirts" pacers. It's a perfect first half marathon, 10k or 5k though for a woman wanting to feel some girl power at a smaller race with a cool shirt two sizes too big thanks to the vendor's vanity sizing. Sorry, but it's true! 

We couldn't have asked for better weather that morning as it was a still a sunny 60 degrees by the time we were done! It was so much fun to catch up on life with each other and reminisce about the old days. We couldn't help but talk about how we thought running a 9:15 pace at the beginning of Vancouver was too fast for us and we needed to slow down or we were going to fade quickly. I ended up finishing Vancouver with a 11:19 min per mile pace and here we were eight years later, kicking asphalt together ending with an 8:03 pace. We both PR'ed that morning after passing the "Men in Skirts" 1:50 pace group at mile 9. I ended up with a final time of 1:45:24 and felt amazingly well after. I wasn't searching for the massage tents (they didn't have them anyway) or taking off my shoes because my feet hurt. It just showed me how important sticking to my training plan, monitoring my heart rate and having fun really does make a difference in how you race. 

Jessica and I at the start of the Heels and Hills Half, May 2013

My heart and soul are happy to know how far we've all come from that first season. I've met a tremendous amount of incredible people through the endurance sports community and I was reminded how awesome everyone really is.

I'll be doing lots of swimming, biking and running over the next few months, so let me know when you want to get together for workout. Yes, I'm talking to YOU! It will be fun to catch up!