I did it!

So this past Sunday was the big day!  My first half marathon - I still can't believe I ran a half marathon.  That's 13.1 miles.  I finished with a time of 2:56 - which met my goal of under 3 hours.  Just barely, but I still met it.  I really had no idea going into it how long it would take me to finish.  I really just wanted to finish within the time they give you and not have to be carted to the finish line in the "sorry its over and you didn't make it" vehicle.

Up until this point, the most I had ever run was 8.5 miles, so I was a little nervous about 13.1.  I didn't want to have to walk a lot, so I just paced myself and did what I felt like my body could handle.  Mile 11 was a little rough for me, and there was a lot of walking during that mile, but once I got to the end and there are hundreds of people lined up cheering you through the finish line, it kind of doesn't matter how much you hurt at that point, you just want to cry and make it across the line strong.

At least now I know I can do it.  It was hard work, there were points where I wanted to quit, every muscle was hurting by the end, but making it across the finish line was sweet victory.  A friend told me after the race, "No one ever said it was supposed to feel good".  

I feel like training for and running a marathon is a lot like every day life... there are times when it's gonna be hard and it's not gonna feel good, you might want to quit, but if you can just push through those hard points and make it to the "finish line",  it is so worth it.

If you've set a goal, no matter what it is, just stick to it.  It's not gonna be easy, there will be rough spots, injuries and times you want to give up.  But keep going, because it's all worth it!

It's Been Awhile

Well, summer is about over, school starts back up on Monday (for the first time, I did NOT wait until the last minute to buy school supplies) and our lives should get back to normal somewhat.  This summer was so incredibly busy - good, but busy.  I'm excited to get back into blogging a little bit.

We just got back from a short little family getaway - it was so nice to just get away and disconnect for a few days.  We didn't do anything special, just went camping, the kids and Brandon did a little fishing, we took a paddleboat tour and just relaxed.  Why do vacations always go by way too fast??

I have alot of things I want to get started on this fall... running and working out are 2 of them.  I just had absolutely no time this summer for anything extra, so I'm excited to get back into it again.  I'd like to do a half marathon, but I need to find a really easy one.  :)  We are about to do a body cleanse (advocare).  Has anyone ever done one before?  This will be our first time, and I have no idea what to expect... But after all the crappy eating and no exercising all summer, I feel like I need to do one really bad.  And, I am trying to get around to finish re-doing my kids bathroom.  Nothing major, just painted cabinets and hardware, new shower curtain and accessories and removed wall paper, textured and painting the walls.

Anyway, that's about it for tonight.  Gotta go get my Hell's Kitchen fix for the night!