Or at least I have been in my life. I've never stuck through with anything. If it got hard, or I realized I didn't like it, I didn't finish it. Plain and simple.
Somehow I got "talked" into running a half marathon. Actually, it started when I signed up to run in the Dirty Dash 10k, which just seemed like a whole bunch of fun, not a whole bunch of running. And that's exactly what it turned out to be. But when I said I was going to do the Dirty Dash, my cousin suggested I then run in the Vegas half Marathon with him in December. I said okay. I was looking for something new to get into, running could be it. When my friend Jen heard that I was thinking of the Vegas marathon, she told me I should do the Halloween half with her in October. Okay again. Mostly because we had to wear costumes and it sounded hilarious.
So I started to train. And I found that as I added a mile, or as I pushed for a faster time, my body adapted really well.
But then we went on the cruise in the middle of my training... and I never got my groove back.
So with a lack of finishing my training I knew I wasn't physically ready to run 13.1 miles. I was close, but not ready. My finish goal went from 2:30 to 2:45. I was going to do this.
So I got up at 4 a.m. and put on my pirate costume and met up with Jen and Kim in 36 degrees to wait for a bus to take us up Provo Canyon to the starting line.
I literally lost all feeling in my toes, and even by the time the race started I still had no feeling in them for the first few miles. But the view at the starting line was beautiful,
as was the view for the entire run. 
And I ran.Until Mile 8 when we stopped and took a picture in front of Bridal Veil Falls. What? We're running a marathon? I guess we should keep going then.
And by mile 9 it hurt. My hips and calves just hurt with every push forward. But I thought of my kids, and how they had watched me train (in the beginning before the cruise messed it up ha). They had ridden their bikes with me on my runs, and asked me every time I came home from a run how far had I gone? How fast had I done it? And they started talking about joining the track team, just to be like Mom. So with every painful step, I thought of them, and I had so much to teach them right now. How NOT to quit. Even when it's hard. I knew they'd be at the finish line. And I was going to run across it.
And the circus was there for me. They were yelling, jumping, screaming, and I laughed. They joined me for the last few feet to the finish line. It was probably one of the most significant moments in my life. I didn't quit. My circus was there. I did it.
And I have the medal to prove it.2:48 is realistic. I wasn't 3 hours, and if I do it again, I'm nailing 2:30, maybe less. Today is Halloween, and it's fitting that I'm walking like a Zombie from the soreness in my hips and calves. But I think about it, and it makes me proud of myself. I did it.
No comments:
Post a Comment