'You will not succeed by your own strength or power, but by my spirit -the Lord all powerful' - Zachariah 4:6
You guys...I did it! In case you didn't see this on Instagram {back in October!} I finally ran a freaking marathon! It had been on my bucket list for years and I finally buckled down and completed it!
Just so you all know, I am not a runner. In fact, I was the girl that got a doctor's note to get out of the mile in PE. Yes, I refused to even run one mile in school. I knew I wasn't going to be the fastest, so I didn't even want to try. Sad, but true. So if you aren't a runner but have hopes of completing a big running goal {a mile, 3k, half, full, ultra, ironman, or whatever it is!} I am here to tell you, YOU CAN DO IT!
This my my third attempt to complete a marathon. I trained two different years, and got to the 12-17 mile training range and as soon as I got an injury I quit. I think I was just mentally not in it & I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I hadn't fully committed to myself at that point.
But something clicked last July and I blocked out every single training run on my calendar for the next12 weeks. I made the time. I put myself first. I skipped out on outings with Adam & the kids, left events early, I didn't drink, went to bed early and I woke up early. I knew I was going to finish the marathon. I didn't care if I had to army crawl across the finish line!
It wasn't easy. The training runs, listening to my body when I was injured, and definitely not the race. I couldn't have done it without the support of all those people up there. They gave up their Sunday to drive around and watch me, my sister made shirts and signs, and they all cheered me on when I was over.it.
I couldn't have asked for better race day conditions! For October in Iowa, it was perfect! Unfortunately, I just couldn't get in the groove. I had some really good runs {17 miles non without any walking} leading up to race day, so I was anticipating a good race. Sadly, I walked more than I ran the last 13 miles, but I don't even care. I DID IT! Proof that you can do anything you put your mind to!
This kids running with me, listening to messages from friends & family on the Motigo app, and a whole lot of prayer helped me cross that finish line.
Looking back I wish I could have done some cross training {I didn't do any!} I said I wouldn't run another marathon again, but I know I could be convinced to do it {especially once the kids are old enough to stay home alone}. I know I could beat my 6 hour 'race' time, but I'm just happy I finished.
