Tuscaloosa Half Marathon Only Days Away

The countdown continues towards the inaugural Tuscaloosa Half Marathon Saturday! A race which will donate all proceeds to rebuilding efforts for the playgrounds and school libraries that were affected by the April 27th tornado throughout the county. As organizers call it, "Run for a purpose. Run toward recovery."

A half marathon is 13.1 miles in distance. Sound a little long? There will also be a one mile fun run so everyone can get involved in this community-wide event.

It was a year ago I began to consistently run again, and it was a big deal to run a one mile loop in my neighborhood once or twice. It was last Spring I ran my first competitive race since my college days, the DCH Sports Medicine 5K Fund Run (3.2 miles). I remember how out of breath I felt after the first mile, how I pushed the last half mile and crossed the finish line with the feeling that I was about to throw up. Clearly, a sign I was still out of shape, regardless of how humid it was that morning. However, it was a great feeling to run competitively once again.

The months following that race, I continued to run, but with the way life can be busy and excuses come easy, the frequency was only about once or twice a week. Not enough. When word came out about the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon, I was intrigued. This was a distance I have never completed before and you can't just walk out the door and do it. A body needs to be conditioned. Thoughts raced through my mind, oh sure, there is ample time to prepare.

Since I prefer outdoor running, the colder winter months have served me well as I have picked up the frequency of runs. I can now run 3 miles and not be wiped out. The conditioning and endurance is building up! The distance on these runs have continued to be increased. I hit 10 miles a few weeks ago. This past Saturday, 11 miles, the longest distance I have ever run! Not just this year or the past decade, my whole life. Keep in mind, I competitively ran in high school and college. 11 miles this past Saturday was the longest distance I have ever run. I would have pushed for all 13 miles, but I was feeling dehydrated and the run began in daylight and it was now dark and I really didn't want my inside doggies to do dinner time business inside. I took them out and drank lots of water. Later that night, oh man, how my knees ached. There were other aches and pains, but the knees were screaming. That pain wore off during the day Sunday. A rainy Monday night kept me off the road, but tonight will be a good time to jump up and keep pushing towards race day!

I feel ready to run the half marathon Saturday. My plan is to run a good race and finish, much like the goal of the 5k run less than a year ago. Then, the next time I will work to improve and take my performance to the next level.

One reason I share all of this, is to possibly inspire others to get off the couch and exercise. We are all busy, find time. Set goals to keep you on track. Consider using competitive running as that target for goals.

B101.7 and its sister stations from Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa are proud to be Media Partners for the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon.