Believing and Becoming

“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can believe it, you can become it.”

William Arthur Ward

Today, I became a Marathoner. I successfully completely the Hartford Marathon in a respectable 5:12 (recap to follow- likely tomorrow). Because I’m sure everyone has been extremely worried about whether survived (ok maybe just my mom- don’t worry I called her when I finished!) I figured I would post a quick update and allow you all to get back to your relaxing weekends! lol

I was not a huge fan of the course, but I did enjoy the spectators. The signs were hilarious, sporting phrases like “You’re running further than many people will drive today”, “Keep it up CRAZIES”, “Free high fives” (And YES I took advantage whenever one was offered!), and “Any day started with a run is a good day”. I hope some one posts pictures so I can share them! I especially appreciated the signs around the water stations that read “You are doing great”, “You look strong”, and “Keep it up”. I was also touched by one group who held up “Believe in yourself- We do” and “You can do this!”. Oh- and I HAVE to give a shout out to the people playing music, dancing, and passing out walnut bread- You guys rocked! I totally wanted to ditch the race and hang with you instead!!!

It was clear it would not be a good running day for me from the start. I don’t know whether it was because my legs were still fatigued from boot camp (thanks Mike :-p) or I just haven’t been stretching well; but they started hurt from step one and continued the ENTIRE WAY. I pushed through by reminding myself why I was there, who I was running for, and that “every step is a victory”. I think before my next big race I may have “If I look tired, remind me why I’m here” printed on the back of my shirt for added motivation. I only stopped to walk briefly a few times past the halfway point. Adam was with me the whole way, despite the fact that I finally asked him to stop walking next to me while I was running. (He replied “Oh” and proceeded to jog at a painfully slow pace- that I’m sure looked slower on him than me, but made me feel pathetic none-the-less)

The important thing is that we FINISHED side by side- despite struggling the whole way (Adam was pretty miserable too despite his experienced history of marathon running).

So that is my “brief” update. I will have more to report tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your AMAZING support!

BTW anyone who has a chance, please check out The Everyday Warrior’s blog. She has signed up for a Tough Mudder to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, and needs our help! She is in the running for sponsorship and needs our votes!!! Please take a moment to read her post and vote!

Have a great night!