I rarely do anything without going against the grain a little!  And taking on my first half marathon at this menopausal age of 58 was no exception.  Some people doubted I could, others who knew me said I would.  And I did!!

I had my doubts leading up to the race at times due to problems that I was having with my toe…not sure if I have a fracture or if it’s just sprained in someway, but I made sure that it was taped and cushioned to maintain comfortability throughout my run and it worked!!  (Of course, hats off to Mr. Adrenaline who is that wonderful sneaky bastard that steps in at a moments notice and helps save the day!!!)  My toe DID start to hurt a bit at mile 12, but I told it to shut up and behave because I was going to finish that race NO MATTER WHAT!!!…..It cried and whimpered a little and then went to sleep until after my victory dance at the finish line!!!  Yeeehawww!!!

The Martha’s Vineyard Marathon/Half Marathon was just a dream of a runcation!!!  The weather was picture perfect and the temperature was the best!!!  I could not have asked for a better day for this challenge!!

Check out the course on the website, http://www.marthasvineyardmarathon.com.   You’ll see that you cover quite a bit of the island going from the forest to the ocean, from the land to the sea, (now what song is that?).  The landscape was so gorgeous that there were times I was brought to tears.  I’m from the city so when I’m out in the open like that it just feels SOOOOO good!  Wild turkeys foraging for grub everywhere! (Eat up fellas and I’ll see you in November!!)

I am ever so grateful for every part of my body that got me to the finish line!!  And also my husband, Kate http://www.hungry-runner.com,  Hal, http://www.halhigdon.com/training, and all the people at A Snails Pace http://www.asnailspace.net for their advice and encouragement.

Where to next?  Which road is out there waiting for me? Not sure yet, but I’ll keep up my fitness as though I were training for the next half!

Does anyone have any suggestions for my next runcation? Which road will you be taking?