Last Fall, my sister Allie ran in the St. George Marathon. We couldn't go down to watch her run, but I was really proud of her for accomplishing a goal she had set. I decided I wanted to set a goal and reach it so I could teach my kids how to do it too. I had already run a few 5k's so I decided I wanted to push myself a little bit. So I signed myself up for a 10k and a triathlon. (I had also already done a triathlon, but I loved it so didn't hesitate about doing another.) I have never been a huge fan of running. I like hiking, swimming, biking, and going on walks, but there is something about running that I just haven't been able to get into. I don't know why. But I definitely had to run to get ready for this. I probably should have trained a little more, but I did get better as I kept trying. I learned that a lot of the problems I had with running were in my head. If I had a negative attitude and kept wondering why I was doing this, it was harder to run. If I was positive (or trying to be positive at least) and thinking that it wasn't so bad and I could do it, I did a lot better and could go farther. Last weekend, the big day for the 10k arrived. I had also gotten Allie and Josh to sign up for the half marathon and our friends Nicole and Tanner signed up for the 10k with me as well. It went so well! I couldn't be happier with how I did. I told myself that I really wanted to finish in 1:30, but my goal was really 1:15. I ended up finishing in 1:07. I ran every step. I was getting a little tired at the beginning of the race and started telling myself that I needed to reach a certain point before I could walk. Then I thought, how silly is that. I can do this. I don't need to walk or slow down. I knew that my thoughts could definitely affect how well I did so I turned my thoughts around. And I felt great! I ran with a smile on my face and kept putting one foot in front of the other. I was so proud of how I did. I was proud of how Allie and Josh and Nicole and Tanner did. Nicole took 1st place overall for girls and Tanner took 2nd overall for boys. Josh took 1st place overall in the half marathon and Allie beat her last half marathon time by quite a bit. We were all pretty happy. We then enjoyed the rest of the day hanging out with our family. We've had quite a few fun weekends together.
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| Josh coming to the finish |
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| Me about to finish |
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| Me with Nicole and Tanner at the finish |
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| Wearing my medal proudly. I did it for you Colson! |
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| Allie coming to the end |
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| The three of us with our medals |
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| Colson and Ben. I couldn't have done it without their love and support |
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| Josh with his bear trophy. |
