Lessons From My First Mini!

Well, I have my first HALF MARATHON under my belt now!!!!!

I have been an on again, off again runner since after my first child was born nearly eight years ago.  But, you know what?  I kept having children!  That put some breaks in training.  So, NOW, at 34 years old I had time, ambition, energy and will power to train.

Ten weeks ago I started this training and what started as an exhausting 3 miles started to get easy until 3 miles felt like a jog in the park.  Then 5 miles and then 7.  Because of our crazy schedule lately I had only been able to do one 10 mile weekend run and not nearly as many as I should have been doing.  But, I am a strict person when it comes to commitment and I made a commitment to this and Darn It I was going to DO IT!!

(This was taken right before I ran into the poor man in front of me!  Leave it to me!)

So here are the top ten things I got out of my first half marathon!

10. I CAN do it!  No matter what doubts I had in my head, or my body, I CAN do it and there were many others out there from 12-75 years old of all body types that were doing it too!

9. I now understand, after all this, what those funny chaffing creams are for.  I have chaffing burns in the most unlikely of places!

8. Good shoes really DO make all the difference!

7. The "Little Engine"knew what he was talking about, "I think I can" is a great mantra to repeat while running and keeps a good breathing rhythm as well!

6. Wicking clothes are no joke.  Get some!  Even for landscaping and things around the house I think I will use them!

5. There is this weird transition that happens after a while of running that all you want to do is stop and walk, but it actually hurts to walk and your body feels so much better when it is running.  That is never a truth I thought this girl would ever say!

4. One of the most unflattering places to find women are in the bathrooms before and after a race.  That is all I will say about that.

3. I can't imagine running without my Juice Plus!  I took a double dose last night and this morning, used the chewables for some extra fuel during the race and had a double shake when I was done!  Love that I have all of that God given fuel to work with as I stretch the potentials of this body.

2. My family and friends.  Brian has worked around my schedules for running, encouraged me, asked about my runs when I got home everyday and they were right there at the finish line.  Balloons, cheering, wanting some mama love. My dear friend Lori was there too and it was candy to my heart to see her after she had been away so long.  Friends that ran too and friends that couldn't and just cheered me on via facebook and messages.  It was heart warming.

1. I couldn't have gotten here without my FAITH!  The words echoing in my ears throughout my run, the prayers before my run, the prayers of my friends and family during my run.  I seriously couldn't have done it without feeling like every person I have had to say goodbye to over the years wasn't right there with me, pulling me along at times.  Some of them with the sincerest sarcasm about what I was doing, some encouraging and some just present because that is where I needed them.

I am happy with my time.  The goal was under 2:30 for my first half marathon and I achieved it!

Now, I am going to go upstairs and take a nap!  Wait!  First I have to see if I can move out of this chair.

Get out there and try my friends!  Even if it is just a quarter mile today, get out there and try!  It does a body, and soul, Good!