Crawl if you have to....

Luckily I didn't have to crawl.

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first,

in the middle of the pack,

or last. You can say, 'I have finished.'

There is a lot of satisfaction in that."

-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

In January, I sat down and decided to start a bucket list.  Some were things I wanted to accomplish this year.  Running a 5k was one of them.  I don't really know why.  I think it's because this year I've really needed to find some things that help me feel good.  Things that give me an outlet to escape from my thoughts and to focus on something else.  Something to help me feel....better. 

So I thought, Why not running? 

I'm a little crazy I think.

Through my little journey of running, I've discovered that I have a love/hate relationship for it.  The sense of accomplishment - I love!  The feeling of wanting to throw up - I hate.

My friend Joni is a great motivator.  One morning we went running and she kept pushing me - and reminding me to run.  That stuck with me - I'm out for a run, not a walk. 

And then there is Bry who was and is my biggest supporter. 

A few months ago, my friend Whitney had emailed me and told me about a "Glow in the Dark 5k" down in Eagle Mountain.  She and her hubby were going to do it, so I signed me and Bry up.  We hung glow sticks all over us and had a blast.  We didn't run the whole time - most likely because we were laughing, talking and catching up the whole race.  We don't get to see them often because it's quite a drive from Utah to Omaha. (insert smiley face).  The race was interesting.  When we crossed the finish line, they had pizza and cookies for us.  Not really what you want to eat after running!  It was fun anyway!

July 13, 2012

Everyone ready to start!  Some people got really creative with the glow sticks....

 

Pretty fuzzy picture - but here we are "enjoying" our pizza at the finish line.

But then Bry signed us both up for a 5k in Morgan.  I really wanted to do good and push myself.  Unfortunately, my right knee hasn't enjoyed me taking up running.  And the last few times I had run - it felt like it was going to snap.  I was hoping my knee would hold out for the race.  But about a 1/4 of the way in, it started hurting.  Bry would make me walk just for a minute and then we'd start again.  I was getting mad!  An old lady even passed me up!!!  As we kept going my knee started getting worse and I got discouraged.  But for those of you that know Bry, he comes up with some of the best pep talks.  And he whipped a couple of those out.  At one point I was complaining about the pain in my knee and he said "How does your other knee feel?"  I told him it felt fine.  So, in response he said "Then think about that one!!"  I started laughing and knew I could do it.  He wouldn't let me walk towards the end.  He said if I walked over that finish line I would be disappointed in myself.  I knew he was right, so I gave it all I had.  We sprinted (as much as I could) to the finish line.  The motto that Bry set for us - "FINISH STRONG" - kept running through my mind.  And I feel that we both finished strong.  Having my best friend right by my side during some of my hardest moments is the greatest feeling.  Together we can accomplish anything.  Together, we finished.

 July 28, 2012