Noosa Half Marathon, Here I come…

I’ve got exactly a week to go now till I race my first official half marathon… eeek! :-s Looking back, it’s been about 9 months since Craig put the idea in my head that I could run 21.1km. Back then the last official race I ran was the Darrel Chapman 3km in just over 18 mins and I was extremely sore for 3 days after that!! Needless to say, the idea of running this distance frightened the heck out of me! The furthest distance I had fully run was 6km and I did feel like dying, how could I ever run 21.1?? (So yes I know how you feel Jesse Perkins)

Putting on my ‘Purple Tiger’ for a hill run around home…

These days when the topic comes up in conversation that I’m training for a half marathon, some strangers, work colleagues and friends say, ‘wow, how do you do that, I don’t think I could run 1km’. It’s amazing because it always brings a smile to my face as I recall where I came from – and my answer usually starts with – ‘you’d be surprised at what your body is capable of’.

Having run the half marathon distance already in training a number of times, I am fairly confident that I will finish, but the little competitor in me would be ecstatic to get a great personal best time. 🙂

The point that I’d like to highlight though is, I have definitely come a long way from the dying 6km racer and I have a number of people to thank. First off, to my wonderful husband, Craig, for his support and belief and helping me discover how much I love running! Secondly, to the Lismore Luv-a-coffee running crew, that I run with each Wednesday and Saturday, for their friendship and encouragement!! In comparison to the wealth of running experience in the group, my half marathon seems like a little pimple – however it is all relative and everyone has to start somewhere. I’ve enjoyed running with you for the last 9 months and hope for many more runs and adventures together!

I know Craig and some other running buddies have already planted the full marathon in my head, back in August last year actually – but let’s just say, I’m not mentally ready for that just yet, but with hard work and determination, I’m not ruling it out … watch this space 🙂

So if all goes well next week on Sunday the 6th May, I hope to have a positive post half marathon report. For now, I REALLY need a speedy recovery from my cold,that has interrupted my running for the last two weeks – for full health and good conditions on the day!! AMEN!!

Till next time – see you out there!

– Diana