I Tink I Can

This guest post was contributed by Emily of Travel With Emily.

I have never been much of an athletic person.

You are much more likely to find me with my nose buried in a book than outside running. But somewhere along the way I realized I needed to get active, especially considering I spend most of my day at a desk.

I started slowly walking 5Ks, then 10Ks, working my way up to a half marathon (and then swearing to never do another one again) before finding my event – sprint distance triathlons.

Along the way I had become addicted to the thrill of participating in a race.

When I found out there was a sprint triathlon at Walt Disney World where I could run through the castle I was super excited. Racing and Disney was a brilliant combination!!

It was at this triathlon where I first heard about a brand new race – the Princess Half Marathon. I knew then I was going to take on the challenge of doing another half marathon.

Who was I to turn down a chance to wear a tiara and run through the castle? After all, running through the castle was what brought me down to do a triathlon so far from home.

I returned in March 2010 and successfully completed the Princess Half Marathon. I was ecstatic! And ready to sign up for the 2011 race.

That was until I fell while hiking on a washed-out trail in Cinque Terre, Italy, and tore my MCL in November 2010. My first thought as I was making my way back on the trail and assessing the damage (after numerous prayers of thanksgiving that I was alive) was I am not going to be able to do the Princess Half.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

After missing out on the 2011 Princess I was determined not to miss the 2012 race, even if I had to walk the entire thing.

I started talking with my physical therapist and she cleared me to start walking. And so walk I did, gradually building up miles. I also bought myself a shiny new Garmin to help me with pacing.

But then it happened – the announcement about the Tinker Bell Half Marathon, taking place at Disneyland! And Los Angeles is ever so much closer to Seattle than Orlando.

But more importantly, Tinker Bell means Peter Pan and Peter Pan means London. I love London!! London is probably my happiest place on earth. There is something about London that calls to me.

Done. I had to do the Tinker Bell Half.

But where did that leave the Princess Half?

My internal debate began. This was the race that I had set my sights on. With only a month in between, would that be enough time to recover and do it again? Especially for someone like me, who isn’t a serious runner by any stretch of the imagination. And would I even be cleared to run by then?

But even with all the doubts, the more I thought about it the more the idea cemented in my head and there I was signed up for both races.

Coast to Coast medal – here I come!

With the decision made to do both races, and with me still not running, I knew I was going to have to do something for my confidence about walking 13.1 miles within the time limit.

And so I put a non-Disney half marathon with a longer time limit on my calendar and I finished in just under 3 hours and 15 minutes. Confidence granted!

I finally received clearance to start running again, after about a year off, and I have been taking it slow and easy. I started off with running for 30 second increments and I have progressed to 1 minute.

With the Tinker Bell right around the corner, I am definitely feeling the butterflies kicking in, but I know that whatever happens, I will have two great races!

Emily is a native of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She loves books, old movies, coffee and peanut M&Ms. Besides working and aspiring to be a runner/triathlete, Emily loves to travel and boards an airplane for far-off (and sometimes near) places as often as she can. She grew up a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh and one of her fondest vacation memories is visiting the real 100 Acre Woods in England. She chronicles her adventures at Travel With Emily.