Part 1: I'm only HALF crazy, 13.1

This Sunday (11/13/2011) I will be embarking on my third half marathon. It has been four years since my last race and having started all over with training has gotten to the point where I am ready for a third race. 

This is me at my thinnest. 

The reason why I started was because of heartbreak. An unhealthy relationship ended in 2006 and I was left heartbroken and lost, I didn't know myself or what I truly wanted. My crazy mind would not find any focus and my only cure to become clear minded was to run. 

Seattle 2006

Like most things in my life, I learned how to run long distances from a book. Picking up two books helped me on my journey. The first The Beginning Runner's Handbook by Ian Macneill was what got me running safely and longer distances without injury. I finished my first 45 minute run and wanted to move on, that is when I bought Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham. 

"The miracle truly isn't that you are going to finish, but that you had the courage to start-not just the courage to start the race, but the courage to start this odyssey of training and self-discovery. You've had the courage to find out whether you are who you think you are."  ~John Bingham

This photo captures one of the best moments of my life with my dad. 

The quote above is what happened to me with my first half marathon in Seattle. When I first started running, I was trying to fill a void. Unhealthy at first, I lost a lot of weight and was at the thinnest I had ever been in my life. It may sound crazy but my life changed with each step in that race. No longer was I filling a void, I was discovering myself. Crossing the finish line as a person that could trust myself and recognize that no matter how bad it can get-my mental toughness and endurance will pull me through.

Seattle Half-Marathon (11/26/2006)
Finish time: 2:11:32 
Average Mile: 10:02

Lance running with me for a short distance. :-) I love this picture. 

Lance and I dated in high school. He found me online.  

What happens when you find inner happiness? Love runs right into you.  My second half-marathon was run in my hometown of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. 

Home, the place where I found the love of my life. We had just reconnected, he had asked me out on a date two months prior to this race. The month of May was a big month for the both of us, not only did I run this race but I graduated from the University of Idaho and landed my first job in Arizona. Lance finished his apprenticeship with IBEW (and followed me down south). 

Coeur d' Alene Half-Marathon (5/27/2007)
Finish time: 2:14:49
Average mile: 10:17

 " The most difficult part of the training program is getting to the starting line. You must confront so many obstacles. There are so many places for things to go wrong, so many times when you can give up and quit, that, if you are there when the gun goes off, you are already a different person than when you took your first training run."    ~John Bingham

Mom and I at Komen Race for the Cure. 

So after starting all over, running has become my morning ritual. I wake at the break of dawn and get that early 6 a.m. run next to the ocean.  Some of the most beautiful runs have been when the sky is pink or I see dolphins in the surf. Running has evolved into a meditation for me, something that centers me and helps find calm and focus.

Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.        Hebrews 12:1

So next posting will be the result of my third attempt at 13.1 miles. 

~Amanda