only half crazy

On Saturday, June 9, Alfredo and I ran a half marathon. Neither of us have ever run one before. In fact, I think the farthest I have ever run prior to th past three months was about three miles. I've never really liked running... Or most exercise for that matter. And three months ago, I wasn't exercising much at all. But then, our friends Stacie and Jeremy talked us into running a half marathon with them. I am really not sure why I agreed to it. But I did. And once I agreed there wasn't much that would keep me from doing it. At first I ran on our treadmill 2-3 days a week and going three miles was hard. Slowly it got easier and most Saturdays I would get up around 6:30 and jog/walk for a couple of hours. A week before the half, I went nine miles.

My goal was to finish in 3 1/2 hours and to jog at least six miles and walk the rest. Alfredo had also been training and he could go farther and faster than me. So I told him to go ahead, but he decided to stay with me the whole time. He was such a great running partner. He cheered me on and told me how great I was doing. He pushed me just a little bit, but never too much. He reminded me to keep breathing and encouraged me wh. My right hip started to hurt. And the first eleven miles were great. The last who were pretty rough, but I finished! We finished in two hours, 52 minutes and 15 seconds.



I felt so great that I accomplished this. I still don't think of myself as a runner, and while finishing in under three hours was great for me, I know it isn't a fabulous time. My amazing sister Suzy ran the whole marathon in just under 3 1/2 hours.


While there I saw a bumper sticker that I really liked... 13.1, because I'm only half crazy!

As I trained and ran the half, I heard two mantras in my head. Both helped me and encouraged me as I ran. The first was Phillipians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." The other that helped at least as much was a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved." As a child, I know I heard stories about Harold B. Lee and how he couldn't sing, but he continued to practice, practice, practice and became much better. As I would run, I would often hear this quote and think, "This is hard for me, but if I keep trying, it will get easier." And it did. I can run farther now than I have ever been able to in my life. In fact, I will most likely sign up for another half marathon to keep me motivated to continue running.