The first steps

They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This is a journal of my journey to walk a marathon. I don't know where or when the idea took root in my mind but it is there now.

I started walking in races last June with the 2006 Muirfield 5K. It was there that I was bitten by the race bug. By the time December came around, I had competed in four 5Ks and one 4 miler. My times were not in the top of the walkers but they are were around the same times. My personal best was 51:02 - a 16:27 min/mile pace.

Once the winter cold had left the Central Ohio area, it was time for my first race of the year - The Dam Fool 4 Miler. I was not totally prepared for the race and by the first mile I knew I was in trouble. I managed to finish the race ( dead last) with a couple of surprises. The first was that I was only 1 minute off of my December 4 mile race time. The other was that I was the only male to walk the race. Because of this, I was listed as getting the top honors for my category and received a $20 gift card to a local restaurant.

Enter the folks from Team In Training. They train people to run and walk marathons. The participants are asked to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I joined the organization and entered to walk the 2007 Columbus Half Marathon. This is my first big step in reaching my goal to walk a marathon.

Saturday, I walked another 5K. This was the Mother's Day 5K at Griggs Reservoir. I was able to put some of the things I have learned about training to walk a marathon to use. I set a new personal record for the 5K with a time of 50:06 and a 16:08 min/mile pace.

I will keep the journal up to date with my training and the status of my donations. I am trying to raise between $1700 and $2500 for the Society.