Back in October I ran my very first Half Marathon. I trained for about six months and I can tell you that after I race I was so happy that I decided to challenge myself. It was something I didn’t think I would ever be able to accomplish and I never saw myself becoming a runner. I especially didn’t see me sticking with it for as long as I have. What drives me though is seeing the results. I used to run a thirteen minute mile and I now can run somewhere from an 8 minute mile to a 9 minute mile. To me that is crazy and seeing myself grow is wonderful to witness. 

For me the ultimate goal is to be able to run without looking at the watch all the time. After the Half I discovered that I no longer really care about the time. It’s weird, I used to be really obsessed with it and there were times when looking at the watch would change my mood while I ran. It determined where I would go, if I would stop completely or kick it up. It was all on the watch and what the watch said. 

The other day I finally experienced what it was like to just naturally let my body decide how far to go and what pace to be at. The only time I looked at the watch was to see what it would say when the watch would beep or to see how far I had ran. The time didn’t really matter to me and I just let myself glide through the run. It was almost like I had been doing it my whole life. 

I think after I had accomplished something so big and just seeing the time I made that it boosted my confidence and made me realize how much I really do love the sport. It’s strange how things chance and how our futures can be changed by one decision. I love running and I love being able to run. Not many people love it and there are some who can’t run because of a disorder, an accident, or have difficulty with the process. 

I am very fortunate that I can run and that I enjoy it. It’s an exercise that I will continue to do and challenge myself in. 

So the half marathon was quite a lesson for me. I learned a lot about myself but I also learned something about the people I know. Specifically, our neighbors. My neighbors have been a big motivation to keep running and helped me to keep up the program. There were several times where I ran with my neighbor and just being able to have a buddy for a little while and give her that encouragement helped boost my mood towards running. It even got me up early in the morning and getting the training done before I even start the rest of my day. It was strange to get used to but it was a nice change of pace. 

After a while my neighbor and I went separate ways, you know life likes to take twists and turns. We both got super busy and just stopped running together. Of course that didn’t mean that I stopped running all together. Even though I lost my partner I knew that I needed to do this for myself. So I kept going. 

From there my neighbors helped me by making me smile, showing me that little things can make or break a day, and to just believe and have fun with the moment. 

Of course put all that together and then boost it x10 and you have these amazing people who are out there when the race starts at 7:30 and are cheering you on. Then they stay and cheer you on at the half way point and even wait for you to cross the finish line. To me that is amazing and quite honestly one of the best gifts I have gotten. I never expected them to be there and to be cheering me on like that. I certainly didn’t expect the beautiful posters they made and the gifts I recieved for finishing the race. 

I love them dearly and I am so glad to have them in my life. Them cheering me on and being there for me while I took on this huge challenge made the race fly by. 

SO thank you, my wonderful neighbors. 

By the time you guys read this I will be on my journey but I just want to jump back and talk about the half marathon I ran. 

So I trained for six whole months and I learned quite a bit about myself. One of the things that I learned was that I really have trouble progressing and without all the support I had I am sure that I wouldn’t have accomplished the race. Training for six whole months I learned that I can go longer distances but after mile nine my feet really get beat up. I can physically feel my feet hitting the concrete. I also learned that I get runners high if I really let myself go. During the race I felt amazing and had no trouble. Of course that changed when I hit mile 8. I started to really slow down and for the rest of the race I was dreading this decision to do thirteen. I was even imagining a scenario where I had quit and stopped. 

Yet I looked ahead and there were two people who I admire. I’m not going to call them by their names but I will say that they are so amazing and they are relationship goals. They dance, run, and train together. It’s so amazing what they have accomplished and you can tell they both love what they do and each other. 

They are what really kept me running most of the race. They were a set pace that I was able to manage keeping up with. 

Towards the end of the race I remember this guy being next to me and he was in this blue T-shirt. I could hear his breathing and something in me set off and I took off in a full sprint at the end. it was my last set of speed I had and I had managed to use it when it mattered most. 

I am really proud that I was able to accomplish something so hard and do it in a record time offfffffffffffff 2 hrs and 7 minutes! Ya’ll that is amazing for a very first try at a half marathon.

So yea if you work hard you will succeed. I learned that we humans can do anything and the payoff is so worth it. 

The race is tomorrow. Six months I have been training and it’s finally here. IN a strange way it doesn’t feel real and quite honestly I feel really nervous. I have thirteen miles to run and when that’s over I have the rest of the day to drink, eat, and relax. Then I get up the next day I am out of town and on my own for an entire month. 

Really though this is all about the race. To be honest I never saw this being real. At first I thought that maybe I would back out at the last second and call it quits. At the time I was working at Whole Foods and I was doing 20-40 hours a week and most of my shifts were closing. So I would get off around 10p.m, go home and run. By the time I would be done running it would be almost 11:30 and by the time I showered and sat down it would be well past midnight. For a while that was fine and I was getting the miles in but I soon realized how that wasn’t going to fly when I left that job. 

When I started working at Kilwins I remember how nervous I was about this whole experience. This was a new store, new people and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make this balance of a part time job, my blogging (and YouTube) job and the training work in a way where I didn’t feel like I had exhausted everything out of me. Yet I always manage to get surprised. The people at Kilwins are just so supportive and awesome. They are nice and always tell me that its not really about them, it’s about you and what you are wanting. They have supported me and this whole process the entire way and they still are rooting for me as I make my transitions to traveling being my full time job. 

This has been one crazy journey and I am so glad that I decided to do this half marathon. It has taught me a lot about myself and I couldn’t have done it at a better time. 

So wish me luck on this race tomorrow and just in case you all were wondering, yes I am going to be making videos while I am gone so, go Subscribe to my YouTube channel to follow my adventures! I got a lot planned for this month off and I want to share that experience with you guys. 

Four more days. Four more days and then all this training, running and stress will be put behind me. The past six months have been a crazy roller-costar when it comes to my training and I have to say, it has been very rewarding to me. I never expected to ever get passed four miles and to be able to get all the way to ten is such an amazing feeling. Most people my age don’t like to do much of anything when it comes to exercise and if it weren’t for the influence of my father then I would have never gotten into this sport. 

Of course I am one of those people who were very fortunate with the way I grew up. I was always able to play soccer, I had access to horseback riding, I did some water sports like skiing and wakeboarding. So I have been athletic most of my life. I may not be very good when it comes to my ability to do most things but I still enjoy the exercise. 

I am very happy that I have this chance to run these thirteen miles at my age. I feel like I am finally accomplishing something for myself and my setting this standard and by pushing myself I feel like I can show the world that you can literally do anything as long as you want it bad enough. 

So yes my followers, the race is soon and once it’s over I will be releasing a few different things to talk about this race itself. I want to share what happened, what it was like, the challenges I faced and a few other things with you guys. Wish my luck at the race and I will see you all at the finish line!