My training started slow with jog/walk intervals around Greenlake Park which is a 3-mile loop. I could barely run a mile without huffing and puffing. Not being a runner, my only goal was to finish the race and to do it without feeling like I wanted to die! Signing up with Team in Training for the Nation's Triathlon and going to team practices really got me through the 'why am I doing this' phase. Having a team behind me has been the key to seeing the finish line.
The night before the race I had everything ready to go for the early morning wake up; clothes, after race items in my gear check bag (flip-flops were the best thing in the world after the race), GU and a pre-made breakfast smoothie waiting in the fridge. I was so full of nervous excitement, and maybe a little fearful of missing my alarm, that I was unable to sleep. But 4 am finally arrived and I was up and out the door.
As I walked to the bus stop I passed some people sitting on the porch still partying from the night before! Once I got downtown, there were shuttles waiting to take us to the start of the race in Tukwila. The start area had food, drinks and what seemed like and endless line of port-o-potties. I was impressed with the organization of everything and amazed at how many different types of people would be racing. The variety of people really put my nerves at ease allowing me to relax before the race; if they could do it, I certainly could!
During the run there was plenty going on to keep your mind off the fact that you would be running for over two hours. Dodging through a crowd of almost 30,000 kept me on my toes and was very interesting people watching. There were live bands, cheerleaders and patrons endlessly rooting us on. And among all the madness of the crowd, Lake Washington brought amazing beauty and a sense of calm as we ran along the shore. Of course, I was taking pictures and tweeting while I ran and had a great music play list that kept me going despite the pain.
I surprised myself by running most of the race. I had planned on walking quite a bit but once I hit mile six, running was actually easier than walking. I only walked maybe a mile and a half throughout the race and ran the rest! The last mile I got a killer cramp in my foot but it was the LAST MILE, I had to keep running! Crossing the finish line was such an amazing feeling. I felt so proud of myself for finishing a race I never thought I would participate in. It is amazing what our bodies are capable of when we take care of them.
This experience gave me racing fever and I’m now getting ready for my first triathlon in September! The only portion of the triathlon I was worried about was the run and now I am very confident about it. I am pretty sure I will be running a few more half marathons or maybe even a full in the future.












