A very personal journey

Although the 1/2 marathon was the most awesome experience with my family, it was also a very personal thing for me. My conditioning for my training started back last May with interval running on the treadmill. As soon as I could run a mile without stopping, I headed outside. For me, it was much tougher at first to run outside, but much more satisfying. I loaded up my IPOD with my favorite songs and away I went. I remember the day I hit my first 6 mile run. It was the day we were tubing down the Salt River. Everything felt so good and I knew at that point the 1/2 marathon was well within my sights. I did have some bad runs in the heat where I wasn't hydrated enough and felt pretty rotten after. As John reminded me, that's what training runs are for - to make mistakes and learn from them. Although I ran all my training runs by myself, John always came along on my long runs and walked the opposite direction to give me water. It wasn't just the water, but the smiling, encouraging face I saw as well. I absolutely couldn't have done this without the support of John and everyone else who offered enouragement along the way. Especially my sister Holly who exchanged emails with me almost daily with encouraging quotes and personal words. This 1/2 marathon was something I had to do for myself and only myself. I had something to prove and that was that I could set a goal and follow through and finish it. At no point during my training or the 1/2 marathon did I want to quit. (my body may have had other ideas but that is where it becomes such a mental battle). One of my goals was to run every step and I did succeed with that. I am glad my brain won and will never regret this awesome experience. Because I know I can do better than I did for time, I will continue to run 1/2 marathons until my body is not physically able to. It has become part of me and my life style. Running is definitely not for everyone, but if there is something you truly want to do in your life, just remember: All it takes is all you've got!! (my personal mantra)