Anyone looking at my overweight self would understandably be at least a bit surprised at the idea of me having done a half-marathon once upon a time. While I do have a regular work-out routine – just not hard enough to offset my  calorie intake – I have not in fact jogged hardly a single step since that half-marathon. The relationship was this.

Running is a requirement in the Army and the simple fact is, I’m not built well for running, even in my slimmer days. I have always been “curvy” and with being just under five feet tall, my short legs mean I have to take one-and-a-half steps to what a normal person does when running. Like many military members, I developed knee issues which of course one just deals with. Fortunately I wasn’t prone to shin splits, but I did also develop heel spurs which eventually cleared up. Anyway, as I was approaching retirement, one of my intentions was to swap from running to walking or other forms of exercise. However, I had somehow allowed myself to be talked into participating in the annual Kole-Kole Pass half-marathon. For those who remember WW II history, as the bombing attack at Pearl Harbor was underway, so was an attack on aircraft on the other parts of the island. Kole-Kole Pass is part of Schofield Barracks and the Japanese planes came through there. So, not only is it the 13 miles of a half-marathon, it is up and down the mountain. I was quite clear to the group that lured me into this – including my husband – I would jog, but walk up the mountain and they were going to have to hang around the finish line until I managed to make my way. As often is the case, there were festivities at the finish line and my companions said, “No problem.”

At least it was a beautiful day as we set off and I was very quickly passed by lots of people. I admit I wasn’t the last person to cross the line and sure enough, my little group was waving and cheering me on when I did finally arrive. The true muscle aches didn’t fully set in until the next day and I hobbled around for another few days.It was quite the experience and I admire anyone who chooses to do the long races.