My Half-Marathon Story (Still In The Works)

By no means am I a writer. I don't really enjoy writing, but I've had these thoughts in my head and figured I should probably jot them down somewhere. So here you go! Enjoy my imperfect train of thoughts!

One day I decided to change my life. It wasn't a hey, I'm going to start working out all the time, eat perfectly healthy, and lose a whole bunch of weight. However, it was a hey, you need to learn to love something again and in the process love yourself just the way you are. I had not been fitting in my clothes that I normally would, I wasn't happy with who I was, and I certainly did not love running and being fit like I use to. I even told some of my old running friends that they would never see me running again. (Two of them ran the half marathon with me.) I was sad. I was not healthy. I was not liking myself.

So I decided to change. I found a half marathon that sounded like fun and told myself I would run it. But I didn't even sign up right away because I wasn't even sure if I would follow through this time, like I had failed to do multiple times between my high school graduation and now. I never did it for the weight loss, for looking good, or gaining popularity with people. I did it to finally love running again, because I wanted to be happy with who I was and the way I was living my life. In return, I not only learned to love running again, but I also learned to love myself again, just the way I am; whether that be a few pounds heavier or not. I may have lost inches and pounds along the way but most of all, I lost some insecurities. I am proud of myself for what I accomplished and am thankful beyond words for the people that have supported me, prayed for me, ran with me, raced with me, and gave me grace during the last few months. 

I am not a perfect person and some days I failed to run just because I didn't want to. I prayed a lot, I asked God to give me the strength to persevere, I ran on days I wanted to, and days I didn't want to, I took days off, I sang too many songs to count in my head on long runs, I sacrificed hanging out with friends and sleeping in, and I prayed and thanked God many times that neither Anna or I had not had any injuries or anything happen that would hinder us from running the half marathon. 

If you know my story, you may understand this next part, if not, I'll be sharing my story here soon so just hang tight: There were many times I felt guilty for running because my dad isn't able to run and I felt like maybe I wasn't suppose to be running without him; but every time I had those thoughts, a peace came over me and I felt like because I was running, I was doing something right. I can't explain the feelings, it just happened. It has been a roller-coaster to say the least, but I am thankful for every up and every down because they have led me to where I am today. I am a half-marathoner!

Before the race started.(Can you tell it's early?)

In the first mile, all smiles and in-sync

Mile 4-ish. First place we saw our families

Anna and I on the far right running with a group of ladies at mile 7.

Just after the gigantic hill at mile 10.

We are DONE! 

Spring

Spring is well underway and I know because I have laid out in the sun on an 80 degree day and gotten a light sunburn and the next it is windy, cloudy, rainy and in the 60's. That my friends, is what I call Spring!

 

I love this time of year because there are so many colors that have been dulled by Winter the last few months and I can sit and hear the birds happily chirping outside! I can also smell freshly cut lawns, see our apple and peach trees blossoming, and I can finally wear cute clothes again! (Girls: Am I right?)

As I was finishing up two photo sessions on my computer, I was looking at my desk and realized I still hadn't put any flowers in my clearance vase I got for $4 at JoAnn's and there was a little frame with a verse in it. My desk was still having the Winter blues. 

As I was waiting for photographs to load, I ran downstairs, grabbed some paint, a brush and some blue painters tape, and spruced up the frame. I then grabbed the trimmers and ran outside and cut some blooms from a tree in the back corner of our yard and the trimmed some greenery off of another bush. I filled up my vase with some water and stuck the flowers in. And WA-LA!! My desk is now ready for Spring!

 

Here are a few other photos of my little project! Even something as small as this 4x4 frame and some flowers in a vase can make quite a difference. Especially when they're next to the computer you work on. I'm sort of in love with it and the flowers are making my room smell glorious! 

This Blog.

This blog is just beginning. It's empty and wordless; but not for long! Soon it will hold thoughts, dreams, successes, photographs, craft projects, and tales of my daily life. To start this blog off, here are 20 things about me:

1. Everyday I dream about living on some land with a big garden, lots of livestock, a cozy house, and a family to live there with.

2. I dislike school, but Lord willing, I'll graduate will my Photography degree Spring 2015!!!

3. I have two birthdays; 04/08/1994 and 09/24/2006. (If you have questions feel free to ask!)

4. My favorite color is green! Although I don't really dislike any color.

5. My best subject in school was math, but never liked doing it. I'm a slow reader and have never been able to write well! Therefore; I take photographs! Lots and lots of them!

6. This is my third blog I've started. (My first was on hatching baby chicks for my senior project and the second being my mission trip to Bulgaria in 2013.)

7. I love to bake. But if I cook, I need a recipe or dinner will never be made.

8. I spend my Winters hunting with my dad, my Springs taking way too many photos of flowers, my Summers being outside not coming in till it's dark, and my Falls drinking tea non-stop while eating apples and nutella. Because of this, I have no favorite season.

9. My first memory is of moving into our house in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, and don't remember a day before that. (Which included the last miles of our move from IN to CA.)

10. My favorite number is 10.

11. I have had numerous pets in my life including cats, fish, hamsters, bunnies, a hedgehog, a gecko, chickens, and dogs.

12. I have red hair and inherited it from my Papaw (Dad's dad). It skipped a generation and I'm the only grandchild out of 8 that got it, and I was the last born!

13. On my hunting/fishing license it says that I'm 4' 11" and weigh 93 lbs. And I have no doubt that information is no less than 5 years old. (I guess I should update it...someday!)

14. I lost my two front teeth on the same night within a few weeks of Christmas when I was a child...not even joking you!

15. I recently chopped 14 inches off of my hair and donated it. I still miss my long hair!

16. I'm doing a half-marathon at the end of September and I haven't ran more than 5 days in the last year. Training will begin this month.

17. Even though I'm getting my photography degree, I really just want to be a farmer of some sort and do photography on the side. Although I really have no idea what I will actually do with my life once I graduate!

18. I started my photography business officially in August of 2013 and two weeks later photographed one of my closest friends' wedding!

19. I didn't fall in love with photography until I photographed my now brother-in-law proposing to my sister. (That's a whole post in itself.)

AND 20. I still watch Disney movies on a weekly basis and I blame it on all the babysitting I do! Yet I am not ashamed because they just don't make movies like they used to.

Wow, that took a lot longer than I expected. That's not my story, but you can get a gist of what my life is like. This blog will be about my daily life so I assume you'll get to know me better just by following along! Until then, those 20 facts might just define me.