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!
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| Before the race started.(Can you tell it's early?) |
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| In the first mile, all smiles and in-sync |
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| Mile 4-ish. First place we saw our families |
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| Anna and I on the far right running with a group of ladies at mile 7. |
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| Just after the gigantic hill at mile 10. |
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| We are DONE! |
