I did it. 13.1 miles.

Completing a half-marathon has been on my bucket list for over 10 years. It’s always been one of those dreams that sounded awesome, but I secretly wondered if I’d ever actually ever make it happen. I’m not fast or a runner by nature, and for some reason I thought that if I couldn’t do it while running the whole thing, then why even bother.

Earlier this year, I started focusing more attention on my health and fitness. I started tracking my diet and doing my best to get more workouts in. I got even more serious at the end of February when I decided to kick the whole thing up a notch by participating in Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard Challenge. (You can read more about my experience with that here.) I was nearing the end of the challenge when Kevin and I started talking about FinalVibe and I virtually attended Rachel Hollis’ Rise x Live Conference. I had all of these people around me saying “yes, you can” and I realized that the only person that was holding me back was myself and my mindset.

I mulled over it for about a week, when I finally decided to just go for it. With 75 Hard, I had been unofficially training and had done up to about 7 miles at one time. I realize that’s not super close to the 13.1 it would take to complete the half-marathon but I figured most training programs have one or two long mile training days that don’t quite get you to the full race length anyway.

I didn’t even map out a tentative path or really tell anyone what I was up to, but I did start recording a little vlog to document myself as I went. I started around 9am and took our pup, Willow, with me. I knew she was good for the 4 mile loop from our house, to the trail, and back around where I would drop her off and keep going.

Once I dropped her off, I went back for a similar loop but added on another couple mile portion that would get me a little closer to the distance I needed to be at to not have to do the same loop 3+ times. Throughout the rest of the walk, I listened to an audiobook (which happens to be my favorite when I’m getting those steps in). I was listening to 168 hours by Laura Vanderkam which talks about how we have enough hours in the week to set strong priorities and make our dreams happen if we take action, chuck out our time, and get over the lies we’re telling ourselves about what we’re doing. It was a motivating one for sure!

On this particular day, it was partly sunny and only 51 degrees fahrenheit. I got lucky, because it was beautiful out. We have a stunning trail system that winds around the area where we live that has lots of shade from the tree canopy. These trails and my neighborhood made up the entirety of my walk, which I’m super thankful for. Aside from the audiobooks, I love looking at the different trees, animals, and flowers that catch my attention. I can’t imagine not having a place like this to explore.

I started having some low-back discomfort due to some tight hamstrings and ended up stopping twice to stretch in the 9th and 10th miles. Between the stretching and this section being the most “busy” part of the trail, these were definitely the slowest of my splits when it came to time per mile. Part of the 11th mile was a zig-zagging path up hill and I about keeled over, but I knew if I stopped, I’d probably never start again. I was getting tired.

I passed by the house around the end of the 11th which was the perfect timing for my pups and Kevin to cheer me on! It makes all the difference knowing that people are excited to see me hit this huge accomplishment. For the last mile or so, I felt like I was crawling, and my mom (who checked in multiple times throughout the morning) called and cheered me on through the end. It felt like it all came full circle, as my mom and I virtually walk together almost every single night.

I was really hoping that everything would wrap up nicely and I’d be stepping onto my porch as soon as I hit 13.1 but ended up needing to go another 1/10th of a mile to make it home – not too bad considering absolutely zero planning went into the day. It was a little after 1pm when I wrapped up, and the errands I had planned (like walking around stores and picking up a 40lb bag of dog food) seemed a lot less fun with the new blister that had formed on the bottom of my foot.

Blister and low-back aside, I felt so good and managed to do 90 minute workouts in the days following. I kept describing it as an “on top of the world” feeling and I cannot imagine what doing a half or even full marathon surrounded by other people doing the same thing would feel like. Hopefully I’ll find out soon enough.

As I’ve thought back on this, I can’t help but ask myself “what’s next?”. I really want to continue improving on my time and start incorporating even more running into the mix. I’ve continued walking (though not at anywhere near this distance) and I’d love to do something more “official” next spring, or maybe even in the fall.

Even though it feels kinda silly to post, I need to know the numbers I’m going to beat next time. So for now, here are my stats:

Total Distance: 13.20 miles

Total Time: 3 hours, 43 minutes, 10 seconds (9:06 AM – 1:08 PM)

Average Pace: 16 minutes and 54 seconds / mile

Fastest Mile: 16 minute and 17 seconds

Slowest Mile: 19 minutes and 24 seconds

Total Calories Burned: 1897 calories

Elevation: 561 feet to 730 feet (481 foot elevation gain)

Average Heart Rate: 160 BPM

Weather: Partly Sunny, 51 degrees fahrenheit, 81% humdity

I’d love to hear what you’re accomplishing and help cheer you on. Thanks so much for reading.