A Life Changing Experience

I did it and it was so much better than I could have imagined! I actually finished the Helvetia 1/2 marathon (13. 1 miles) in Hillsboro and it was so awesome! (This is huge for me...someone who hates to run). I totally want to do it again next year...though I think I might let my sore body recover first. I was so nervous the day and morning before and I kept wanting to back out thinking "what's the big deal? I can run 13 miles here and still have reached my goal." I'm so glad I had the guts to stick it out and go anyway...it was so much fun and I've never had a better run. The weather was perfect, it was great to run with family (Kelly, Kirsten, Anna, and Eric) and the scenery was beautiful. There were about 4 thousand participants and I was pretty much intimidated. However, the fact that Kelly and Eric (my uncle and cousin) have done many full marathons and knew what they were doing made me feel like I could do this and the fact that I've been training since January gave me the confidence to see what the big deal was. The funny thing is that I swore I would never do anything like this... I have never been a runner and never had any interest in this kind of thing. Well, now I think I'm hooked. I still don't really want to do a full marathon but any 1/2 marathon...bring it on! The icing on my cake for that day was getting to the finish line and having my husband and kids there cheering me on...what a rush! I'm so glad I had the courage to get to the starting line; honestly that was the hardest part. It was an unforgettable experience. Thanks Kirsten for being a great running partner and for not letting me back out! We rock!:)