It’s Day 2 of the Tribe’s Best Mother Runner Moments of 2016, and we two ladies who conquered their first half marathons in 2016. Each has a different story, and we appreciate both of them. Thank you for sharing, ladies!
“I stayed up on New Year’s Eve last year to register for the Detroit International Half Marathon at 12:01 am January 1st and waited until 1:30 am for my confirmation. This was my first half marathon, something that I NEVER thought I would accomplish when I started running a few years ago (in my non-athletic early 40s). Running and finishing that race was an awesome experience—surrounded by 20,000 other runners, cheering crowds, and the honor to say ‘I’m a half-marathoner!” —Mother Runner Tina
“In October I finished my first half-marathon. It may not have gone as I had hoped but how could I not be happy finishing in 2:16 (in the pouring rain) with this guy by my side. I strive everyday to show my boys that anything is possible if they work for it and I WILL beat 2:16 in 2017.” —Amy
I ran my first full marathon in 2016 (Marine Corps) less than a year after my first half. Part of me still can’t believe I did it! And I’m already signed up for my second – Chicago, here I come! And I will again be surrounded by my BRFs from Moms Run This Town.
I ran my first (and then second) Ragnar Trail Relay this year. This sea level girl decided Ragnar Trail Snowmass would be a good idea. It was one of the hardest, but ukrimately most rewarding runs I’ve done. And I” already signed up to go back in 2017 to celebrate a dear friend’s 40th birthday!
Yes! I trained to run my first half marathon this year, but then changed plans and ran a 25k race around the lake where I trained. It was amazing because I only started running in January 2015 and swore I would never do a long run. The extra couple miles were killer, and seeing my kids running toward me at the finish line was one of the best feelings: I set out to DO this thing and worked really hard and DID it! This post is inspiring me to try again.
I ran my first marathon in 20 years ;)
CUTE picture of the little boys with his mom running in the rain! It reminded me of my 1st marathon this year (Ogden, Ut) in the pouring rain! I have never been so cold! It was like running and getting your ice bath at the same time! I hated it so much I immediately signed up for a 2nd marathon so I could have a do-over! ;) I’m currently training for my 2nd marathon (in the desert!)
This year I truly realized that many things in life don’t get easier the older you get……running is one of them. So, in light of this I decided to try to tackle my first ever half marathon at the age of 49. I had only been running for about 8 months prior to this decision, and had years of failed running attempts behind me because of chronic injuries. I concurred this by doing pant loads of HIIT training, and getting a super strong core. I registered in the Niagara Falls Half Marathon, and completed it In 2:11:47, finishing about 13 minutes faster than I thought I would. I gained SO MUCH from this experience and only lost one thing……a toe nail (gross really)! I’ll never forget that moment of looking up at the clock near the finish line and seeing my time. The first thing I thought was, holy cow, next time I do this I’m going to go under 2 hours! So, I guess I’m doing another.
First knee injury in 30+ years of running. And surprise, I fell while NOT running and injured it. Currently in PT trying to get range of motion back but still running!
I ran my first marathon in ten years and in Colorado. I had tried two other times to accomplish a race of this distance at altitude with hills and had needed to drop down to a half due to injuries. It was such a wonderful feeling to cross that finish line!! Now my next goal is to drop my Colorado marathon time; it was 4:57 and I know that I can go faster. Maybe I should consider another state at sea level :)
In 2016, I ran my first ultra marathon which also included 2 other firsts: running at night and on some trail. It was tough and I didn’t reach my A goal but I made my B goal.
In 2017, I’ll be running my first 39.3 challenge. I’ll run a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full on Sunday.
I did heart rate training for my first marathon. It was an amazing experience with the another mother runner HRT group. I survived 20 weeks of training and met my goal! Woohoo!!
At 52 years old I completed my first full Ironman! I learned along with the moms I trained with that crossing the finish line was the celebration–becoming an Ironman occurred throughout the long hard months of training. But what an amazing journey!