At the beginning of March, I decided to start running. Within days, I decided to motivate myself and train for a half marathon. It sounded totally crazy, but I needed something to motivate me to actually run. The first month was tough. I hated every minute of each run. But my sister (who created my training program) really pushed me. I remember in April telling her that I “bit off more than I could chew”. There was no way I was going to be able to run 13 miles. She basically said, “Well, you signed up, so you might as well keep trying.”

I am extremely proud to say that yesterday I ran my first half marathon! It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. I know that many people run races. But for me this was more than a race. This was kind of momentous for me. I am not a disciplined person. Over the past seven years, I have put on a lot of weight, have had three children, and survived cancer. The fact that I started running 3 months ago and ran 13 miles yesterday is a huge accomplishment for me. I wanted to take control of my body and my mind this year. I think I’ve made progress! :)

My sister was always planning on running the race with me, but not WITH me. She has been a runner for years and would have ran at her own pace…way ahead of me. She decided to run at my much slower pace so we could do the race together. This was such a great bonding experience for me! Dana is a talker :) and talked to me the whole race…which showed how easy it was for her! She distracted me from my discomfort and pushed me to continue on when I wanted to walk. She teared up with me as we rounded the corner to the finish line and made the whole experience more enjoyable for me. Isn’t she awesome!?

The first six miles I felt good and ran the whole time. At 9 miles I was pretty beat, but Nate and Walter (Dana’s husband) were there to cheer us on. Those last four miles were tough. Dana encouraged and pushed me. It would have been hard to finish without her help! It was also wonderful to have two of my dear friends there to cheer us on…they got up at 4 am with us!

Here are a few photos!