The difference a little support makes!

Author's note: This race became so much more emotional for me than I expected. I got a little windy here explaining so I give you permission to skip down to the pics if you want. :)

The Story:
Last April I decided that running was going to be my "thing." I was going to be a runner. I can always pick out the women who run...disciplined, fit, and they wear fancy digital watches. I wanted that. I wanted to be hard-core.
So we're off...but running for no reason got kinda dull. How far should I run? How often? How fast? Why am I running? I needed a goal. After surfing the internet for running tips/routes I decided to dabble in a 1/2 marathon training program and picked out a race to enter. I trained for about 4 weeks before actually signing up for the Omaha Marathon...and before telling anyone I was thinking of signing up. After a 9 mile workout I thought, I can do this. If I can run 9...surely I can run 13.1?
Training was tough...especially when school started. I was feeling so overwhelmed already...and then had to add long runs onto my days?! Matt was such an awesome supporter! He trained with me a good portion of the time--solely because I didn't have time to get my workouts in until after dark and he wouldn't let me go it alone. (Wait, did that sentence make it sound like he was running with me...because he was biking...but I still enjoyed his company and appreciate his effort). I didn't know if I could make it 13.1 and I missed some training sessions here and there...but 13 weeks into attempting to be a runner...race day was upon us.
Hands down, the best thing about this experience was the support I received from my family. I was so honored when they all planned to come watch the race. So here we are...in Omaha...for the packet pick-up and pasta party. Only a few tears during a "what the heck am I thinking" moment when I looked around the convention center at all the hard-core people preparing to race...in the same race as me. My dad helped me through that one and I ate the pasta at the party even though it was like 4 in the afternoon and I wasn't hungry. If everyone else was eating this...I was too. Woke up at about 5am on race day and gave a quick interview to documentary producer Mike Keeley before venturing to the start line. Also kept reading the verses Hebrews 12:1-2 in reference to throwing off everything that entangles us and running the race before us with endurance, fixing our eyes on Jesus. I know this verse isn't referring to a 1/2 marathon, it's referring to living a life on earth for Christ--but it still provided such comfort and motivation for this small race I was undertaking in the big race of life. Might seem like a strange concept to some, but I definitely felt God's presence and strength during the race.
At the start line I kept thinking this was a goal I had set, I trained for this, now it was time to just do it. I kept thinking this is going to be hard, it's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't going to be hard my family wouldn't have made the trip...woudn't have made T-shirts to support me. This is going to be hard. It's supposed to be. I survived...and it was hard. But it wasn't deadly. It was actually FUN. The actual event of the race, running the 13.1 miles, was fun! It was exciting to see all the people lining the streets cheering the runners on. It was actually pretty emotional. The atmosphere was great and the route was really set up well. It was hilly, but I knew once I got up the huge hill I'd be able to go down it.
The point of my whole "story" is, I know there are a lot of people out there who have done much more heroic and hard-core things than run a 1/2 marathon...but the sense of accomplishment I felt when I finished the race and my family greeted me at the finish line is indescribable. It felt so great when they were proud of me. I achieved my goal...and it felt amazing! I know I'm getting all sorts of motivational speaker-ish, but I can't explain the feeling I got from meeting my goal. Surpassing my goal! So I just have to put that challenge out there...do something crazy. Do something you think is beyond yourself. Set a goal...work toward it...achieve it. Because otherwise you're just letting life pass you by, right?

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