So...I did it...We did it! Along with my good friends, Jeri and Becky, I did a half marathon (13.1 miles) yesterday up in Lawton, OK.
My 2012 New Year's Resolution was to do a half marathon and I was bound and determined to do just that. At first I thought it would be a lot of fun...a big challenge...and a way to hang out more with my friends as we trained for the event.
The first few months were great! The training was not that difficult since I had run several 5Ks before that. However, about mid-summer I was beginning to wonder what the heck I had gotten myself into.
I endured a lot of pain in my knees and feet and especially in my left hip (which has given me problems since I was pregnant with Dotty...and carrying her on that same hip for the past 5 years has never helped the situation). Many times I just wanted to give up! I wanted to look at my friends and family and say "You know what...I tried...but I cannot do this." I never said those words though. I thought them often...but never said them.
Around early September I started truly dreading the half marathon. I was worried I wouldn't finish...that it would be 110 degrees on the day we ran...or that it would be pouring rain. I thought I might be hurting too bad to even start the race. I spent many a nights including this race in my prayers. I prayed I would be able to do it...that I would be able to finish...that it would not be 110 degrees on race day.
Be careful what you pray for.
I did finish the race and it definitely was not 110 degrees. It was more like 40 degrees and sprinkling.
Note to self...be more specific in prayers.
When I first made this resolution to do a half marathon I thought it was all about the finish line. All about crossing that line and raising my arms in the air in triumph! Don't get me wrong...I was glad to do all that. But it was not all about the finish.
More than anything it was about the journey. The ups and downs. The struggles. The successes and the failures. The friends that took the journey with me. The family and friends that supported me and cheered for me along the way. It was about learning how far I could push myself. It was about learning to be forgiving of myself...my shortcomings...my weaknesses. I really did learn a great deal about myself on this journey.
The truth is I had a "vision" as to what my "road to the finish line" would look like and the reality of it was that road was nothing like my vision. However, I learned that taking another road is okay if you still get to your destination. Sometimes a different road is a better road. And actually...if I had not been able to make my "destination" by finishing the race that would have been okay too...because sometimes in life the destination we want is not the destination we were meant to reach.
I am a planner. I like knowing what will happen in my life. I like my lists and making set and concrete plans. It is hard for me to deviate from a plan or to be flexible and I am rarely spontaneous. But this journey taught me that sometimes I have to let go of the plans I had in order to take the journey I was meant to take.
Some of you might wonder how long it took to finish a half marathon and my answer that is...I was not first. I was not last. I finished somewhere in the middle. For me this goal was never about time...it was simply about finishing.
I cannot thank Jeri and Becky enough for doing a half marathon with me. I know at one point (or several of them) we all thought about backing out. But none of us wanted to let each other down. Becky plans to run another one (perhaps Tiffany...who started training with us and due to her job could not run with us the weekend...will run with Becky later on). Jeri and I have no plans of doing another half marathon. However, we are in talks of doing the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred (a bike ride here in Wichita Falls) next year. I personally need to get over the pain of the half marathon before I commit to anything!
All in all I have lots of great memories about this journey. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful life. And when I am in my 60s I hope to tell my grandchildren about my half marathon experience (no doubt Dotty will have heard it a million times by then)!
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