Happy New Year?

With the beginning of the New Year we all seem to make resolutions but today is the day my resolution comes to an end. In 2007, I stuggled to train to run a marathon, 26.2 miles, with young children still home. I ended up getting injured and only ran a half marathon on Jan 1, 2008. I felt like a loser as I fell short 13.1 miles of my goal to do 26.2. In 2010, I had three children in school and had gotten past feeling like I always had to be doing something for someone else. I decided to take time for me. That meant that I was going to exercise consistantly. Though my social life suffered, my exercise did not. I said that I was going to exercise and I did. I ran, I swam, I cycled. In the end I ran a few half marathons, getting an under 2:00 hour half -marathon PR in Provo, as well as my slowest half at 2:13 in the hills of Huntsville, competed in a small Navy Seals competition, and did a 100-mile bike ride (Tour de Cure) for diabetes with my hubby, father in law, and friends McCall Sessions and Todd Maddox. I'm sure in the process of exercising, I lost a few brain cells, enough to sign up for a marathon, but felt good that I had a stable base built to successfully complete my failed goal of 2008. Though the Texas Marathon did not go as I hoped for with my time, I overcame a huge roadblock mentally. My first 3 loops of the 4 loop course was going well, then at mile 19.5, my left knee gave me serious trouble and I had to walk, walk, walk, attempt to run, and walk again. The last 7 miles were the slowest and could have been the most disappointing, but amazingly I enjoyed every moment. I did not let that setback bring me down and that was huge for me. I successfully finished the marathon and checked it off the bucket list...well, that is until I do my next one in June where there no walking is allowed!

The New Year Runners...Daniel Lawton (who placed 1st in the marathon), "Derwin", Di & Jeannine (who ran the half-marathon), Me, Dad and Mark...missing from picture is our friend Christian Rauch.

Standing tall, even with those 10 pound medals hanging around our necks. And Mark has good reason to be doing so. Mark qualified for Boston, running a 3:09:52! Congratulations and see you in Boston in 2012!

The matching ladies...JUST DO IT! We did!

Thanks for the memorable new year day and not so memorable New Year's Eve. Next year I will be up late, stuffing my face with all the yummy Japanese foods I missed this year!