Well next Monday at this time it will all be over. What I have been working towards for the past 9 months will have come and gone. It will just be the start of things to come for me. By accomplishing this Half Marathon I will be proving to myself that I can do anything that I want as long as I believe in myself. As I have said before I have NEVER been a runner. Not ever, even when I was a young girl running was something that I hated. As I got older it was also something that I hated. I would look at people that were running and think " Oh my gosh! That's great but why do they like to run? You get all sweaty and hot and yuck!" Since I first started my journey towards a healthier lifestyle I have dealt with lots and lots of sweat. It's not pretty that's for sure. The gym is a place that I never liked before. The gym is now a place that I can be found at during my week. Running is definitely NOT easy for me. I am a 49 year old over weight lady that has never run prior to now. It is something that I think many people take for granted. I was in my first 5k in September and was so proud of myself. Since then my running had improved. Now I am not what you would call a " Real Runner " I am more of what is called a Run/ Walker. That means I run for a small period of time and then walk for a small period of time. I had gotten to a stage where I was running for a few minutes and then walking for a few minutes. Then it happened……I got injured. I hurt my knee when I was out doing my routine. I had to take a couple weeks off. So I started back to below where I was before and started to try to work back up and then I got sick. I was really sick. First a stomach bug and then a very, very bad case of bronchitis. My doctor sidelined me until the beginning of last week. That was nearly 6 weeks off!
Now this was really starting to freak me out a bit. I mean I have this Half Marathon which is 13.1 miles coming up!!! There are pace time requirements! I do not know what to expect as to where I will start in reference to when they start holding to the pace time requirements. I have my family including my parents, my sister and her family and my brother and his family going to support me!!!!! What if I can't keep the pace time requirements?? The last thing I want is to be pulled off the course and transported back in a vehicle!!!!! Tons of things were swirling around in my head. My doctor, who is a runner, told me that the number one most important thing was my health. He told me I just had to readjust my mind set. He said look if you have to walk each and every step of that race you will be so far ahead of where you were last year at this time. That in itself is an accomplishment. He also went on to say that there are many, many people that never run during a Half Marathon, they will walk every step. He assured me that if I could just change my mind set then I would be able to feel confident and everything would be fine. So that is what I have done. I will already be in my favorite place on this entire planet and what's not to enjoy about that!
Since I have started working towards this goal I have noticed there are many people that really think about their pace time and beating it. They place so much importance on that time on the clock. I have also seen many people that compete with others to beat them or beat their time. I do not get caught up in any of that. I mean yes my pace time is important. I want to improve. I do not want to get taken off of the course however I do not let that number get to me. I am not in competition with anybody else. This is just for me.
I feel very strongly about this quote from above. Too many times in life people seem to forget this. The world is FULL of competitive people. Hey that's great but it's just not for me. It is something I have never really been into. I am fully aware that there are people out there that are faster then me, there are people that are better than me and I could go on and on. I have told my family to not expect me to be at the finish line in a certain amount of time because I am not fast. Just to have them all there when I cross the finish line is going to be so AWESOME! I have mentioned before that my brother is a runner. He has competed in 3 Boston Marathons. Now my brother is the baby of our family. He has ALWAYS been awesome in my eyes. If I could have even 1/100th of his talent for running then that would be great. Sadly though I do not.
The thought of competing in and finishing my First Half Marathon is a very emotional thing to me. I was very emotional when I competed in and finished my first 5k. To have my family all there waiting for me at the finish line brings tears to my eyes right now. Their love and support is everything to me. My husband and girls have been there cheering me on for months now. They are always there to pick me up whenever I fall. They have the right words for me at the right time. They notice my progress when others do not. As far as my parents and siblings go to have them there is a feeling that I can not begin to describe. I want to make them proud of me. I want them to see that I was able to accomplish this. I can tell you one thing for sure, I will definitely have the absolute CUTEST Cheer Squad there because it will be composed of my daughter and my nieces and nephews! I have been asked by so many people who I am doing this with. When I tell them I am doing it by myself they usually respond with " Really" or "Oh" but this is something I HAD to do by myself and for myself. I am 100% OK with my decision. I am of the mind set that I do not want to slow anyone down or make them feel as if they need to hang back with me.
I am keeping only positive thoughts in my head. Nothing negative can enter. I've got this! In the words of one of my favorites " I Think I can! " I am looking forward to being in Disneyland with everyone and enjoying the park with my family and rides with my nieces and nephews. I have already been asked to ride Winnie the Pooh with my little niece Maddie. I'm looking forward to everything about that weekend. So in the words of Peter Pan all I need is a little bit of pixie dust and to think of a wonderful thought. Any merry little thought. Think of Christmas, think of snow. Think of sleigh bells of you'll go like reindeer in the sky… You can fly, you can fly, you can fly! Off to Neverland!!!!
