Summer goal met: I ran a half marathon!

This summer I(Mel) set a goal for myself that wasn't easy to meet:

I ran a half marathon!

I spent a lot of time on athletics while growing up and all through college, even until I got married. I've been able to continue working out since I like exercise, but I've never been a runner. So when my brother encouraged me to run a summer half marathon, I had to do some serious thinking. Wait, I don't like running?! In August?! my mind screamed.

Yet I realized it would be a character building experience to train for a half-marathon. Even if it was boring. And hard. Particularly difficult to train around a husband's work travel. Despite the summer heat and humidity. So I committed.

That's right, for 3 and a half long months, I ran and ran and ran. There were many hurdles. It was as boring as I thought. It was time consuming, and I had a lot of early mornings getting runs in before my husband went to work. And then he'd go out of town and I couldn't run!

My toughest distance was 3 miles. There are a lot of 3-milers in a half marathon training regimen! I fell hard on a sidewalk just under a month from the race date, then my wounds got infected. I used a lot of ice, bandages, ibuprofen, and neosporin. My legs still look colorful from the fall, but I have to say it was all worth it.

Hebrews 12:1 spoke to me the whole time: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Why was it worth it, you might ask?
Most people think I'm crazy for doing it, but it was very satisfying to set a seemingly unattainable goal and then meet it. As the race date neared, I realized that I wouldn't really care about my time or how I ran it; I just felt so blessed to be able to complete the race physically, even if it involved walking!

How did it go, you wonder?
It was a lot more fun than I expected! My precious, fun brother & sister-in-law ran with me the whole time and encouraged me along the way. The day was overcast and only 73 degrees. In August! At about the fifth mile after a big hill I was ready to quit, but I'm so glad my family encouraged me to keep going. And I was pleased with my time of 2 hours and 21 minutes. I'm no speed runner, but the fact that I broke 2:30 was a miracle. I think the last mile took me nearly 20 minutes!

My husband wanted me to blog about this because he thinks I found a deal. So funny. The race registration was only $20 (most half marathons cost at least $45!) and we received $25 Adidas shirts as you'll see in the photo. He thought it was remarkable that I found such a deal at my first half marathon. I think it's funny that he thinks that!

What about you, what goals have you set for yourself lately? Or what goal might you try to accomplish this fall?

As for me, I'm contemplating finding a fall race. Since I'm in running shape it seems like a shame to let all that training go so soon!