Half Marathon,again!

[Ken Palmer]

Hello everyone. Well, this past Sunday(April 19th), I participated in another half marathon with a distance of 13.1 miles. But instead of running or jogging, I walked the entire distance. As many of you might remember, I did the exact same event last year. But this year was a bit different. The temperatures were a lot warmer like in the 90's! Last year, there was early morning overcast and obvious cooler temperatures. I had no major trouble with it last year and I even went on a brisk one-mile walk the next day during my morning break at work. But this year, I wasn't sure if I was going to make in to work the next morning. By the way, they always have them on a Sunday morning. To begin with, I didn't think I was going to make it to the finish line! It was that grueling! By the time I had reached the six and seven mile markers, I was starting to panic internally because I felt myself running out of steam. But I was determined to finish this event because my start and finish times were published both online and in the local newspaper. When I finally reached the finish line, I staggered across. I was so sore that if I sat down, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get up again. And getting to my car afterwards and driving home was a challenge in itself. For anyone who was ever participated in an event like this, have you ever had that feeling? I did go over to a massage therapist located beyond the finish line in a shaded and grassy area and got a free massage for my legs and feet. But even that was painful. In all seriousness, I was worried I had possibly done permanent damage to my ligaments or other tissue with the pain and soreness being as severe as it was.And believe me, I was in no condition for any morning walks for days after this one! But it appears now that I have fully recovered because all of the symptoms have vanished. I think a lot of it was my fault because I may not have trained enough leading up to it. If that is the case, I have learned a very valuable lesson here. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I survived another one. Oh! I think another mistake I made was wearing blue jeans instead of proper sports attire. I am guessing either a pair of sweat or jogging pants would have been more appropriate! Most of the other participants jogged or ran it being they were and are conditioned joggers. I few of the ones I talked have ran in full length marathons. So, this was a piece of cake for them!

Ken Palmer