The beauty of Nashville . . .

As school started this year, my life turned upside-down with so many new changes and stresses in every area of my life. While my blog went by the wayside, I am proud to say that my running stayed constant. With my husband’s help and support, I was able to carve out a little time throughout the week to squeeze in my training and even all of my long runs. My incredible husband, wonderful kids, and stress releasing running were my constant during this time of transition. And I can now say, with pride, that I have completed my second half marathon.



Last Saturday, my niece and I ran the Women’s Half Marathon in Nashville, along with three of my sisters and my mom who all walked it. This second time around has been just as full of life lessons and joys as the first time, but even more enjoyable. My goal finish time was 3 hours and I finished in 2:47:32! I didn’t even notice how tired my legs were because honestly, I was just having so much fun. It was really empowering to be in a sea of thousands of women of all ages and fitness levels accomplishing a feat that had such individual meaning to each and every woman. There was an amazing feeling of supportive comradery throughout the whole race. And the city was beautiful! And my favorite part of the race was going 3 mile down a beautiful street that had a turn around at the end followed by 3 miles back. What I loved was spending 6 miles seeing all of the other women going the other way. We kept cheering for each other, and encouraging those in their first 3 miles of the stretch. I also got to see and high-five all of my sisters and my mom! I missed my niece somehow, although it turns out she was close behind me the whole time. I wish I had known – I would have hung back a few minutes so I could run with her! Maybe next time.



We all finished under our goal times and each completed our own journey getting to that spot on the other side of the finish line. And we all went back and waited for my mom at the end of the race and walked with her across the finish line, 5 minutes under the 4 hour mark! I’ll admit. I cried off and on for a good hour or so afterward. I’m proud of myself for being able to do so much in such a short training time. But more than anything, I’m proud of my family who all overcame their own physical, mental, and emotional obstacles to finish that race. And we became a family who are now in constant contact with each other, even if it is through facebook. Several times a day, we would (and still do) check in with each other with training advice, successes, frustrations, venting, spiritual thoughts, support . . . It started as an ambitious idea which I thought would never take off, and has become an incredible journey. And we’re now, of course, all hooked – everyone is talking about “the next one!”



For me, my plan is to step back, build my training more slowly, doing a half in the spring, another in the fall, and then going for the full marathon in the spring of 2013. I feel I finally understand how to train more efficiently and effectively, and I want to make sure I have a strong physical base before attempting a full marathon so that it is a good experience. I want to WANT to do another marathon once I’m done. I want to be one of those 70 year old women out running on a Saturday morning. It’s funny. I thought it was a miracle I went from avoiding running at all costs to wanting to “finish one half marathon.” That turned into “do another half so I can do a full marathon once and cross it off my bucket list.” Now, it’s “become a marathon runner.” You never know what crazy path you might end up taking yourself down . . .