Why would anyone walk or run 13.1 miles?

The question I have gotten many times since I did my first half marathon in September is, "Why would anyone walk or run 13.1 miles?"  I cannot answer for anyone else, but I can give you my answer:

It's FUN!  While that really is a big part of the answer for me, there is so much more to it as well.  For starters, doing a half marathon was a way for me to reclaim my mobility.  As you saw in the previous post, I had knee surgery in March 2011.  I will spare you the gory details but am willing to talk about it to anyone who asks.  This also includes sharing a picture of all the staples that made the zipper on my leg.

Meet knee hardware.  It is not pretty.

When you have a broken bone in your leg, especially your tibia (the bigger of the two bones in your lower leg), the doctors will ask that you be non-weight baring.  I willingly requested my leg to be broken (that is how the surgery is done).  For 2 months I was in a brace from the top of my thigh to the bottom of my ankle, locked completely straight the entire time.  I even had to sleep in this contraption.  The only times I could take the brace off were when I showered and during physical therapy (PT).  During PT, I was able to bend my knee with assistance only.  Two long months of 3 times a week physical therapy, with two days of that in the pool, but by mid-May, I took my first steps.  Relearning how to walk was difficult at first.  Those muscles were so weak from not being truly used.  The pain where those screws are in my bone was excruciating.  But I was persistent.  I wanted to walk.  I NEEDED to walk.  I knew that running would not be something I could try for at least 6 months, and really, I was perfectly fine with that.  I just wanted to be functional again.  I wanted to walk, step off a curb, climb stairs, stand in the shower, and be fully functional on my own accord. 

Then on vacation in August 2011, I realized just how far I had come!  This is the Puget Sound in the background.  I wanted down by the water, and to get there I needed to climb over several rocks.  I don't know how many as it was a good drop from the sidewalk to the water level, and all that was there were rocks to navigate.

If you had told me in March of that same year that I would be navigating slippery rocks by the end of summer, I would have laughed in your face.  Here I was though!  Minimal pain, and even the fatigue wasn't getting me down, unless I was pushing it too far.  It was at this time, I figured why not try a half marathon.  Walking was already a major mode of transportation for me.  I set a goal for the end of May 2012 to do one local to me.  Truth be told, I started training, but life got in the way, I got a bit very lazy, and just quit. 

Fast forward to August 2013...
I went out to lunch with an old friend.  She had always been one to push and motivate me, but I had no idea that the same effect would be there 18 years later.  We talked about different things we were up to, and she mentioned that she had been doing half marathons.  I explained how after surgery I wanted to do one, and still do, just never got off my butt and did it.  She said that there was one coming in two weeks and I should do it.  I laughed her off.  I had done three 5ks during the summer, but 3 miles is not the same as 13.1.  We continued lunch, but she told me to think on it.  She also mentioned that if I really did want to do one in the future, she was offering to do it with me.  

The following weekend we ended up meeting for dinner.  The topic of the half marathon came up again, but now, the one she was suggesting was a week away.  This time, I was slightly receptive to the idea of trying this the following weekend.  I also had made a personal promise that on December 1st, 2013, I would be doing a half marathon.  Dinner ended and I committed myself, and to her, that I would be ready for December.  But by mid-week, I made the decision that I was going to try for the half marathon that weekend.  What did I have to lose?  No one said it had to be pretty.  No one said I was trying to win.  No one said I had to actually run or even jog.  And this could be called my base line:  my first half marathon and with zero training*. 

*Disclaimer:  I am an idiot!  I am also one of those who likes to go big or not at all.  Do not ever attempt a long endurance race, even if you are just walking, without proper training, and this includes nutrition and hydration.  I am not a professional, but I can use common sense to say that this is a potentially bad idea.