Vancouver (USA) Half Marathon race report (part 1 of 2)

Six months ago, I never would have imagined that I would be writing this next sentence (nor did I even know what it meant!). Yesterday I qualified for Half Fanatics!!  I ran three half-marathons in 48 days (or 2 in 8 days)!  Before I even begin talking about the run, there are so many people to thank and so many who have been inspirations.

It all started on Jan 1, 2011 with a simple 5K with two girlfriends - Z and AHM.  What a great (if cold) way to start off the new year!  After the race, AHM added us to the "Running Chicks in PDX" group.  Little did I know what was in store.  At first I was intimidated - it seemed like these women are all running crazy distances with crazy goals (50 mile race??  3 marathons in 3 days??  Who ARE these people?).  But I knew AHM and knew that she was (somewhat) normal, so I kept reading the posts and thinking about my goals.

I finally went to one of the "meet ups" and met some of the women and realized that everyone was in a different place in their running lives, but we all have running in common.  It was inspiring, and then one woman went around the room and asked everyone how far they were running the next day.  I wasn't training for anything and hadn't planned on running, but I wasn't about to let these amazing women know that!  So I said 3, and then felt obliged to run 3 miles the next day.  That was the start of it!

My good friend, AB, was training for a half marathon, and as the date got closer and closer, she started getting more and more nervous.  I told her that I could run the last 4.5 miles or so with her, and we had a great time!  It was a point to point course, so I then had to run back to my car.  During the race, we had been talking about the Eugene half marathon on May 1.  After running back to my car (and feeling good), and then getting caught up in the excitement of everyone finishing the full marathon, I decided to go ahead and enter the Eugene race.

The week after Vernonia, a few of the women from the Chicks needed support (a driver) for a 100 mile race that they were doing!  Hubby was working that weekend, so I figured "Why not?".  AHM and I drove up together and met up with the women running - TS, SFF, JC.  That weekend created a total shift in my perspective - instead of a half marathon being a huge distance, now its "only" a half marathon.  These women who "seemed" normal, were doing things that I had never dreamed of!  What couldn't I do, if I put my mind to it?

At that point, AB started talking about qualifying for "Half Fanatics". I looked it up, and never one to let a challenge go by, started thinking about it.  Well, lots of the "Chicks" were doing Helvetia, so I figured "Why not".  And Vancouver was the next weekend and close by, so "might as well".  And now here we are!

There are certain women who have been extra inspirational throughout this - whether you know it or not.  EW, AB, AHM, RB, SFF, TS, JC - I'm talking to you in particular.  The support of ALL of the women in the Running Chicks has been absolutely amazing, and the support of my husband has been key.  Plus the support of my friends, who have had to deal with me saying "I'll be late - I have to run 8 miles..." over and over again. THANK YOU ALL!!