I'm not a runner
The Country Music Marathon took place in Nashville this weekend. A few of my friends were running the 1/2 marathon and I planned on cheering from the sidelines, but instead tornado watches and severe weather warnings kept me at home. I didn't want to miss them crossing the finish line, so I spent about 20 min glued to my computer to watch the live feed of the finish line around the time I thought they would cross it. Wow. I was amazed at just how many people were running the 1/2 marathon; it seemed like a continuous stream of 50 people were crossing that line during the 20 minutes I watched. But what was more amazing were the type of people crossing that line... very few looked like "runners", and there were people of all shapes and sizes. I literally saw at least 10 people that I would have bet couldn't even walk a mile, and here they were finishing a 13.1 mile run. Talk about inspiring.I remember when my friend Katie told me she was going to run and invited me to train and run with her... I thought she was crazy. It was the last thing I thought I would ever do. I had no desire, no motivation, and never in a million years thought that I could do it. Katie herself promised me she had never been a runner, but at 5'4" and 100 lbs I knew she was in much better shape than me to make it happen. She trained for only 3 months, and went from only being able to run 1 mile at a time to running 13.1. I didn't envy her during the months of training, but jealousy took over every inch of my body the day I watched her and thousands of other cross that finish line. If they can do it, I knew I could do it too. And I decided I would.
I thought I would have to wait a year for the next Country Music Marathon, but Katie texted me last night about the Women's Half Marathon in Nashville in September. I haven't been this excited about something in a long time. It's perfect... the weather should be great, I have the perfect training partner, and plenty of time to get myself ready. I've always said I wasn't a runner, but that is going to change soon. Really soon. We both have a foot that needs healing for different reasons, so it's going to be a couple of weeks before we can start running together. She promised me we would start slow, only 1-2 miles the first run, because honestly I can't do any more than that yet. But that's how she started back in February, and she said every week she surprised herself at how far she was able to go.
I can't wait to feel the accomplishment and pride when I cross that finish line. Because mark my word, I WILL cross that finish line. Hopefully running, but no matter what my two feet will cross it. And I might not be breathing well or feeling great, but I will have a big smile on my face.
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