My Inspirations

To me, running is not an easy sport. It takes a lot of work, sweat, discipline, and time. I could not do it without others helping me. There have been many who have inspired me and pushed me to do what I never thought I could do. Even watching "The Biggest Loser" has given me motivation to run further, but there will always be a certain few who have given that extra shove I needed to commit to something like running a marathon.

My running coach, Nancy, has had a huge affect on me. I consider her a friend but look up to her as an amazing athlete. When I started running with her and the group she leads at our gym, I was barely running a mile at a time. The training and encouragement she has given, as well as the discipline she has shown have helped me physically like no one else could.

One of our family friends ran the Disney marathon this past Januaury and wrote an inspiring story about it when he returned home. Joe parralled the trials he had faced in his life that year to the trials he faced in his race. I held back tears as I read it, knowing a lot of the things he had gone through that year, and being so excited for him to finish the race he fought so hard to finish. He may not know what an impact that story had on me, but it may have given me the final push I needed to commit myself.

My family has always been my biggest supporters. I always call them excitedly when I have reached a new distance or milestone. Yesterday after the race, my 4 year old son, Noah, told me he was sad that I did not win the race!! How cute! Daddy explained to him that not all races are about coming in first, but about finishing and pushing yourself to accomplish your goals. Michael, my husband, has no desire (yet) to run long distance, but said he wished he could have been with me as I crossed the finish line yesterday. We are planning on getting him a bike so that he can be with me during the many hours of training that I will be doing.
I am looking forward to seeing all my family including my husband, children, mom and her hubby, mom-in-law and hopefully a few others at the finish line of the marathon.

My motivation for exercising has always been to keep my body in the shape it needs to be to live a healthy, active lifestyle. I have three young children to love, take care of, and play with. That is motivation enough! As a Christian, I have always believed that the Lord would have you to take care of yourself. You can work harder for Him if you have taken care of your health in everyway that you can.

So, who are your inspirations?? I would love to hear from you.

Gasparilla 15k

Today was my first race of the year. I have been excited all week and woke up easily this morning at 5:30 to make sure we had plenty of time to get downtown. Today's race was 9.3 miles and I felt that I could do it in an hour and 30 minutes or so. I had been training with some friends, Pilar, Stephanie, and others and we had done that distance a few times and felt good about it.

I started running that distance kind of on accident. I had made it to 6 miles a few times and decided that I would do 7 one Saturday with Pilar and Rob. We made it to 7 and then decided to keep going for a while with Monica, one of our running buddies who was training for a marathon and wanted some company. By the time we decided we needed to go back, we were on the way to running around 9 or 10 miles! (We were on the trail so we were not sure of the exact mileage.) Knowing that I had done that amount convinced me to sign up for the 15k. The next couple of weeks we did even more and I am currently up to 12.5 miles and looking forward to being able to say that I can run a half-marathon even if it's not in a race.

When we arrived downtown this morning, I found Stephanie and we lined up together at the starting line. One of the higlights of the day was the opening ceremony. As usual, I stood in awe as our National Anthem was sung. The noisy crowd became absolutely silent as the words began. At a time when other countries are fighting for their freedom, it was amazing to see the runners put their hands on theirs hearts, remove their hats, and reflect on the flag and what it means. I thought of my family in Egypt and what they have just gone through and it made me appreciate even more the fact that I was born and raised in America. What a priviledge!

As I was running the race, I was thinking about many things. I was thinking about how slowly the miles were passing, how heavy my legs felt, and how crazy it was for me to try to run 26.2 miles when just 9.3 felt so aweful right now. (and that was all before mile 5) I have to keep telling myself that I have plenty of time to train and that my main goal is just to finish. I did not meet my time goal today, nor have I ever in a race, but in reality 1:37:30 (my unofficial time for now) is pretty good for me. The "what if's" and the "why's" will haunt me for days. What if I would have done my first mile slower? Would that have given me any more energy later on? Why do I seem to have less energy on race days though I do more to prepare for them? Is it more of a mental block or truly physical? And many others.

 For now, I will try to be proud of my accomplishment today and thank the Lord for the ability to run no matter how fast or slow.  I'll hang my medal on the dresser with last years as a reminder of the goal I just met. After all, that was my first race besides the 5k's and that feels pretty good.

The beginning of my diaries

Girls are supposed to love writing in diaries, but I never have until now. When you are a kid, you write about boys, your parents, and why you are mad at your sister, but now I am married, adore my parents, and consider my sister to be a wonderful friend. So, what else is there to write about????? RUNNING!!
I have been running for a long time. During elementary school we collected rings for each lap we ran, in high school it was the dreaded warm-up before basketball practice, and during college, I didn't run because nobody was making me. Then for some strange reason after I started having kids, I decided to run for fun! A lot of people wonder how running could be fun, and on certian days, I think the same thing.
When I started running a few years ago, and then more seriously with a running group in October 2009, I never would have imagined that I would have made the decision to run a marathon, but a few days ago I talked myself into training for the Disney marathon next January.  I am starting this diary to keep track of my goals, to have some accountablity, and MAYBE and HOPEFULLY to inspire someone else to achieve their goals, no matter how big or small.