EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of columns by 54-year-old schoolteacher Marlene Welch of Mineral Wells as she trains to run the News and Sentinel Half Marathon.
Why in the world would a 54-year-old, obese, non-athletic woman want to do the News and Sentinel Half Marathon?
Simple to prove to myself, and anyone else who cares - that I can.
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Marlene Welch
I must confess I have walked the Half three times in past years. My training was sporadic, at best, and I paid for it to one degree or another. Still, the sore muscles and sweat felt good when I crossed that finish line!
This year, my training is different. In April, my recently certified personal trainer and daughter, Mary Beth, put me on a training plan. Our first target was the Ogden 20K race in Wheeling, WV, on May 29. My training included 5 a.m. (yikes!) workouts at the YMCA and walks that varied between three and five miles during the week. On Saturdays, we walked between six and 12 miles. Sometimes, it was utterly exhausting but it paid off.
Mary Beth and I, as well as several others from the Parkersburg area, braved the hills and completed the Ogden 20K. That last hill, Wheeling Hill, was a surprise to me but with the encouragement of my speedy speedwalker husband, George, I managed to make it up and over that monster. I felt super when I walked over that finish line!
Our next goal is the News and Sentinel Half Marathon. This is the first time I've participated in the training sessions on Monday evenings, based at the City Park. Lots of people have attended the first two sessions. I've seen friends and acquaintances and I've met a few new people along the way. One thing is for certain some of the nicest people are walkers and runners!
The training sessions, to me, are endurance training, hill training, and "drinking out of a paper cup while trying to walk fast" training. (I usually put more water on my shirt than in my mouth!) I'm also learning to watch the pavement carefully and to pay attention to traffic.
Last Tuesday evening, we did the St. Marys Heart Fund 5K. Though many were way ahead of me, I managed to set a PR (personal record). My pacer was a young man pushing a stroller with his son inside. Again, crossing that finish line felt great!
I may never come in first or second. I may never walk up on the Smoot Theater stage to receive a medal. But that's OK. I'm a winner with each step I take.