I have written to you before about how I started to walk half-marathons to lose weight.  (How I Lost Weight by Walking Marathons). After completing four half marathons from December 2007-May 2008, I decided to give a try at a full marathon (After Walking Half Marathons to Lose Weight Now I Want to Walk a Marathon Just Because I Can).    I completed this in December 2008 (I Finished my First Marathon and Learned a Valuable Life Lesson II The Marathon ).  After the full marathon, I continued to walk and run half-marathons for various reasons (I Need to Keep Walking Even Though I Lost Weight Running the Marathon).  I still have not decided whether my full marathon in December is going to be my only full marathon.  However, I am addicted (in a good way) to training for and participating in the half-marathons.  Since I am sticking with the half-marathons for now, the logical thing to do is to improve my time in the half-marathons.  I have done this over the course of the last sixteen months and will continue to do so.  I have improved my walking technique and have lowered the time that I walk a mile.  However, I have started to run more and more in training and in the half-marathons themselves.  As a result, I have improved my time in the half-marathons. 

In December 2007, my first half-marathon at Kiawah, I walked almost the entire way and completed it in 2 hours, 45 minutes.  In my next half-marathon two months later, I walked a little faster and ran a little more at reduced my time to 2:32.  Then, one week later, I knocked another four minutes off my time at 2:28.  In May, I did a trail half-marathon with its steep inclines and muddy footing.  I did not fare as well in this one. 

After taking three weeks off to rest and to conduct physical therapy on my right knee, I began the six months preparation for the full marathon in Kiawah, where I did my first half-marathon in December 2007.  Of course, a full marathon (26.2 miles) is double the half-marathon (13.1).  The training for it is long and intense.  Through the course of the training, I built up my endurance for long distances; as a result, the short distances became easier.  (By the time of this half-marathon in October, I had completed a training walk of 20 miles.)  As a result, my short days (usually 4 miles) were very easy and I began to run part, then all of many of these days.  At a steady jog, I could easily complete 10 minute miles and 9 minute miles for shorter distances.