I cannot believe what a blog slacker I am! How dare I RUN A
HALF MARATHON!! And not update the one or two people who may read this? LOL The
Air Force Half Marathon was one of the best days of my life. I worked sooo hard
to reach a goal (5 long months) and I DID IT!! My goal was 2:30, with my
realistic expectation being 2:45. I came in at 2:35. I was thrilled. Floating
all day. Beyond proud. And totally shocked at myself. Yes. Even after 5 months
of crazy hard training, even with a big, beautiful medal around my neck I still
doubted myself. I’m now in
training for my second half and unfortunately I still carry that doubt. It is
lessening for sure, though. For instance, today I felt like poo- just tired and
blah all dang day. Until I said a prayer, forced myself into running shoes and
went out the door. I CRUSHED my fasted mile ever! I maintained a pace far
faster than my typical average pace. It was a blessed run! I’m very proud of
it!! I’ve now run over 100 times and over 400 miles. That amazes me. It’s truly
a blessing to be able to run. I am grateful for every single mile. There have
been some serious tragedies in the recent past and many of my runs have turned
into church. Just prayer and pavement. It’s bliss.
I’m so proud of my running because it is a slow ascent to
long distances. We are such a generation of instant gratification. We want
things and we don’t want to work for them (some of that is a learned behavior,
but I’m not getting into that right now ;)) We want the assets, financial
stability and lifestyles of our parents and we don’t stop and think that maybe
we need to work really hard to get there… in 20 years like they did! We post
too many selfies, too many Facebook updates, all in the hopes of instant
accolades from our peers. We are jealous of the vacations that our friends take
(in which they post multiple photos- every day). We are jealous of the
relationships others have… When we need to stop and take a deep breath and
worry about who’s opinions really matter. Who's life are we racing? Who is The One we really need to be
impressing? Who is The One we need to work really hard for? As much as I’m
proud of every single mile, I’m equally proud of the total amount of time and
effort that I’ve put in to get to where I am now. My work is nowhere near done.
I’m learning everyday and I want to continue on this amazing journey. There are
days when I just shake my head and think… “no one said THIS was adulthood”
because it is NOT easy. But I’d like to believe I have a better grasp on it
since I have such a wonderful outlet.
I don’t want to live my life with the intent (whether purposeful or
accidental) of making anyone jealous. I’m a mess of a person and running helps,
but not 100% LOL Everyone is in a different spot in their journey and there is
no reason to be jealous of others. If you woke up this morning you have a
million things to be grateful for. I for one, don’t want to waste a minute of
emotion on jealousy because that’s one minute that I’m taking my own blessings
for granted.
I have 6 weeks until my next half (insert GASP! and instant
stomach cramps here). A group of amazing ladies and I are road tripping to
Nashville for the Rock n Roll Half. There are 5 of us and they are such awesome
women. I cannot wait to spend the weekend with them!! Training for a spring
race has been brutal. This winter (3rd snowiest in history) has been
so so cold. Most of my running has been in the basement on the treadmill. …Not near
as mentally resetting as the good old outdoors. ;) So, bring on April 26th.
I am not going to be ready for the elevation. But I don’t care. I’ll take the
surprise. LOL. I am gonna be ready to run 13.1 miles again. My soul can’t
hardly wait….
Hebrews 12:1 Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
My cheering section from Air Force! :)
http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/nashville
