13.1 Dreams

7 months ago, I started running again. I was a little mad at all that my body had put me through this past year, and it felt good to "get back" at it through running. What started out as me running for 10 minutes at a time, gradually worked up to 2 & 3 miles. Then my neighbors got on board for training for a half marathon. We figured we had plenty of time to build up our mileage before the race, which is (yikes!) this Sunday.

So my neighbor SP(eedy) pictured above, and I woke up early every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings to run together. Barring illness and injury, we hit the road at 6:15am, which until just last week was in the complete darkness--with moon and stars still shining. She is also a SAHM, and like me, also has found this time of running in the morning to be an important time to do something for herself. It's a great time of fellowship and sharing for us too. My husband can't believe that we talk through our whole run. We've laughed, cried and prayed together while running. Having such a great running partner has definitely helped me stick to our training schedule, and made it a lot more fun.

Besides SP, I have another running buddy--my husband, who I only get to run with on the weekend. He doesn't love to run, but does it for exercise, and to support me. When we were dating, we ran both a half and a full marathon together. He never left my side.

In addition to them, my dad is also running in the race this weekend, which totally inspires me. In fact, there are several other friends we know who are all taking on the 13.1 miles. It's encouraging to be around others who seek to be active and have the discipline to challenge themselves this way. I'm also deeply thankful for all the support from so many people in my extended family, who have graciously watched our son bright and early on Saturday mornings. Thank you for putting up with this crazy dream. We're almost there.

If you think of us this weekend, please send up happy thoughts and prayers for no injuries and a great run this Sunday. GO TEAM!