Oh Happy Day!

January 14th was a momentous day for a number of reasons. First, it was my son's fifth birthday. Second, it was the first official day of the YMCA's half-marathon training program. Knowing that I would be running with the group after work, we had a series of mini birthday celebrations for "H" which included a special birthday breakfast and a class party. 

After work, Darrin took H to hang out with family members while I went to run. (We would meet up later for another small dinner celebration.) I walked into the Y and was greeted by lots of friendly faces. Some were confident as they had already been running greater distances, some were worried because they were not sure about running three miles, but all of us were eager to take the next step and give it a try. 

Twelve participants showed up to run. A handful of others stopped by to drop off their registration forms so that they could begin the program next week.
So... if you missed the first session, that's not an excuse - there will be more new runners next week!

Our instructors, Becky and Richard, explained that we would be running three miles. The route was from the YMCA down Starling Ave. to Hwy 220 and back, then we would run two laps around the YMCA block. Since the longest distance I had run so far was 2.51 miles, I was a little nervous but felt good knowing that no one would be left behind.

We took off running as a pack and quickly broke out into smaller groups of runners with similar paces. I hung close to Cindy, a new running buddy, who was going at a pace that felt comfortable for me. I stayed by her side for most of the first mile and a half. During the second mile, as either Cindy picked up pace or I slowed down (not sure which one, ha!), I pushed myself to follow behind but stay as close to her as possible. 

As we ran the first lap around the YMCA block, I discovered that one of the runners behind me was planning to drive from Danville each week to participate in the program. I chatted with her and Becky for the next half-mile before I noticed in excitement that we had crossed the three-mile mark. 

On Sunday when I ran with Sharon, my side of the conversation was "Ok <gasp>....yeah <gulp>...uh huh <grunt>." Running three miles on Tuesday AND being able to carry on a conversation was a huge accomplishment for me! It meant that my lungs were getting stronger and more used to running. 

In the end, my distance was 3.15 miles at a pace of 10:32 per mile; the course had 176 feet in elevation gain. As each person reached the stopping point in front of the Y, we gathered up and chatted to learn more about each other, suggest good places to run, compare running gear and just enjoyed bonding. It was a lot more enjoyable to run with a group than doing it alone. 

Each day I run, I get stronger.
Each day I run, I get better.
Each day I run, I love running even more.

I've had many people in the past weeks asking me about running and I want to say that even if you get winded running a half-mile, try it again another day. The next time add a little more distance, and then add a little more distance after that. If you go back to read the beginning of my journey, I started small and took baby steps. You can too! 

The next training session for half-marathon is on Tuesday at 5:30. If you want to try the 5K training program, that begins on February 10th. Another opportunity to run with a group is on Saturdays at 7:00 a.m. A group of all skill levels meets in the YMCA parking lot to run then. 

I'd love to hear about your journey...has this blog inspired you to run? Have you taken your first baby-step yet? Tell me about it in the comments below and remember...we can do this!