Operation Half Marathon Complete!

Yep! That's right! 13.1 miles completed! Whooo hooo!

I started training for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in July, but sorta fell off the wagon several times. Hey, it's difficult to be so disciplined for so long. Especially for someone who's never been a runner. In fact, before taking on this endeavor... I had never jogged a full mile without stopping.

But, I was determined to do this. I paid for it months ago because I knew that if I paid for it, there was no way I was going to let that money go to waste. And it worked.

Yesterday was the day! My chance to prove to myself and others that I could do this. Although my sweet boyfriend already knew I could. :) He kept telling me that he knew I would finish, just didn't know how soon.

So, my goal when starting this was to just finish! That's all I wanted. "Just cross that finish line, Jess!" Then as it got closer, I started getting nervous, and I wanted to finish in less than 4 hours. I told Chris I would be happy with 3:45. If I could finish between 3:45 and 4:00, I would be ecstatic. (Again, my goal for this first time was to just finish). But, as luck (or perseverance) would have it... I beat my "goal" time. I finished the half marathon in 3:39:07. Yay!

Sooo, the marathon?!?! There really are no words to explain the feeling of not only finishing, but also the actual journey. There were so many people. And not just those actually in the marathon, but also those on the sidelines giving their support. I can't begin to say how much they helped get me through this. It was a very emotional experience to say the least.

I really thought about so much during the 13.1 miles. I thought about my family, Chris, my friends. I kept hearing Chris telling me I could do it. I imagined him telling me how proud he was when I finished. And, when I felt it get really difficult, I thought about my friend's 7-year old daughter, who is currently battling cancer. I kept thinking "if that little girl can fight cancer, and all the pain that goes with it... then I can do this." If anything, I can do this for her. I literally prayed that God would give me just some of her pain for the day. I knew my pain would go away after a few days... but this little girl has so much more ahead of her. So, I would squeeze my "Emily" bracelet...and press on.

And at the end, I felt amazing! Well, not my legs and feet. But, mentally I felt great! So accomplished. And for the record...Chris' face and actions yesterday were better than I ever imagined.