St. Jude Half Marathon

Last month I ran a half marathon. I tried not to blog about it too much or even really talk about it along the way because I was afraid as soon as I mentioned it something would happen and I would not be able to run the race; that had happened to me twice before. But I worked really hard and did it! My first goal was just to finish. And then my next goal was to finish in under three hours (long gone are the days of 9 minute miles). And I did it! 2 hours 47 minutes and 16 seconds.

     I love being a mom and I feel so blessed that I get to stay home with my precious boy. I would not change it for anything! As a mom though, there are not many times that you feel a sense of accomplishment. When you are working, you can look back and see what you have accomplished for the day. You finish things and move on to the next task. As a mom, your work is never done. Just when I think I have finally gotten the laundry under control, the baskets are full again. The sink is always full before the previous load of dishes are even finished being washed. No matter how many times I pick up toys, within five minutes it can look like a tornado touched down in every room of my house. Raising my son, thankfully, is a job that won't be completed for years and years. It is a continual effort that sometimes makes me want to pull my hair out with frustration (yes, I only have one child). But, when Thomas says, "T help mommy" or "Play Mommy" or when I leave the bible out, he sees it and knows exactly what it is and sings "B-I-B-L-E, yes, thats the book for me", when I see him loving other children, I just want to cry I'm so proud of him.  I love it, I love being a mom. But sometimes I just need tangible things that I can say, "whew, I finished something!" There are so many metaphors you can make about running a race and I think I have made them all and they all have rung true spiritually, emotionally and physically. But honestly it just feels good to see the end results of my hard work!

Let me kinda recapture my thoughts during the race.... The first 6 miles were seriously the easiest 6 miles I've ever ran.  I finished those in under an hour.  I was so happy with my pace... At mile 7 I started noticing the mile markers, my time started really slacking off.  But I felt good.  I passed a guy on the side of the road with a sign that said "Running is all mental and yall are crazy as Heck (I rephrase)" I loved it.  That made me laugh out loud.  I passed belly dancers that seriously gave me the creeps; which is a whole other story. 

At mile 10 I started really praying, looking for spiritual music on my ipod.  It solidified the need that in the tough times God is really what pulls us through.  Not to be funny, but at that point I was wishing I had less of Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies" and more of the traditional hymn "How Great Thou Art".

At mile 11 I could no longer take walk breaks, it became painful to fully extend my leg. It was evident that I should have stretched more.  At mile 12 I was there; totally aware of everything going on around me..... the people cheering us on who were not running, the father and son beside me, the best friends running together ten feet in front of me, and the picture on the back of the shirt of the mother in front of me.... That said "Emma, I'm running for you" and had a picture of a sweet baby girl who had to be about Thomas's age.  I imagined a story in my head of this little girl.  

And before I knew it..... I was showing my finisher medal to Thomas.    

Here are some more pictures from my fun run....

Leslie made me a goodie bag.... Don't you love a thoughtful friend?

I traveled down to Memphis with Kathy, David, and Tom.  They picked me up at 5 AM. Here we are at about 630; warming up.

 Here is most everyone from our Dyersburg group.

 What a fun group of people. I felt so much encouragement from them.  They are all pros... I'm a total amateur by comparison.

 Right after the race we met up with Burt and Jeri! So thankful to have them back close to us in Dyersburg.

Then, are you ready for this.... Brian and Thomas picked me up after the race, we celebrated over lunch, ran home.... dropped Thomas off at Paps and Juju's, took a quick shower and ran out the door with Clark and Sarah. We went back to Memphis to see Dream Girls at The Orpheum.  It was an incredible show and we were thankful for our time with our dear friends. 

Man, my legs were tight that night.

Now I just have to sign up for another race because I am feeling zero motivation to run for "no reason" (although we all know exercise is just good because it is good, at this stage in life I need motivation!).  The entire experience was a total rush.  It was really fun, can't wait to do it again.  Come on warm weather so I can ditch the treadmill.