half marathon...

well, i did it! that's right, i can run 13.1 miles!!!! who'd a thought? most likely i was probably the person that thought this was least likely. here is how it went:

6:45-meet with elisha, margaret, angie and mike at the downtown ymca for stretching and prayers.
7:30-the race begins...except that there are so many people i don't get to just start running.
7:40-i cross the line to start running!
7:45-i can no longer see elisha! she's FAST!
mile 1-going strong with angie and margaret.
mile2-still going strong
mile 3-ditto, now running in bexley
mile 4- ditto, still in bexley
mile5- ditto
mile 6- i see david and emaline!!!!!!!!!!! new strength is found
mile 7-stop to pee...and then it hits the fan. margaret and angie went on and i said i would catch up. i never was able to.

when i came out of the porta potty i went to start running again and i just couldn't. i stopped for a second and tried to stretch, which was hopeless. i remember this sort of happening during my training and i decided to push through the pain. so i did. up until mile 8 my knee hurt very badly.

mile 8- my knee starts to feel somewhat better. it should also be noted that "lose yourself" by eminem started playing in mile 8. this is ironic because that song is one the 8 mile soundtrack.

mile 9- see heather and jeff!! i tell heather to pray for my knee.
mile 10- i'm in german village now. guess what... NO MORE KNEE PAIN!
mile 11- i can see the finish up ahead and this spurs me on. still NO WALKING!
mile 12- so close i can taste it i pick up the pace. i see my friend mike here!
mile 13- i was getting ready to turn left onto nationwide blvd. for the big finish when i saw my friend molly. she ran this same race 2 years ago. she was jumping up and down saying "MANDY!!! I"M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!" it was at this point that i started sobbing. happy tears. even as i type this i'm emotional.
finish line- i felt great physically. my time was 2:53, just under my 3 hour goal time.

i couldn't find david for near;y 40 minutes, and that was disappointing. in all the excitement we forgot to make a plan of where to meet. oh well. when i saw him it was still so wonderful. he was a little teary and said "you did it" in his own quiet way that meant so very much.

so it's been two days now and i'm still in disbelief that i can run 13.1 miles. ME. a couch potato. a junk food junkie. what's most amazing is that i am no longer one of these things. i'm active and i'm healthy. most importantly, i'm happy and i'm the me i always wanted to be.

sometimes it feels a little premature to claim this kind of victory. i still need to lose 20 or so pounds and then maintain it. however, i feel like in my mind i'm as healthy as i need to be and that's the biggest hurdle.

also, i will do this again. it was FUN! imagine that, running 13 miles was fun!

Emaline, continued...

-she's started to pull her jaw back and give us an ornery look now. so funny!
-she really, really, REALLY loves her momma. when she's really upset or scared, i'm the only one that'll do. i LOVE it.
-she says up, hot, mama, dada, baba, kitty cat and kisses all the time. her voice is so sweet, with a slight rasp to it.
-people always tell me how engaging she is. i think this is an interesting thing to hear from strangers. she just loves people.
-she loves to go on walks
-when riding in the car she loves it when i crack her window. she crack's up!
-her daddy adores her, and vice versa. just this morning i caught them napping together after reading a book. there is nothing more precious than watching your baby rest in the arms of the man who loves her, protects her and made her. no one will ever love her quite like he does.
-our days at home together are priceless and i think she knows it too.


i'm just in love with this baby. i hope and pray i will cherish this time. it is fleeting...

emaline is ONE...

my baby turned one on 9/15. here are some things i'd like the world to know...

-in the morning she's snuggling now more than she ever has. BLISS.
-she's a flirt. she loves men (and women) and cocks her little head to the side and smiles.
-she's teeny tiny, and i love it. my baby is staying a baby a little longer.
-she's not walking, she's running.
-emaline loves to eat from my spoon and is so over her baby spoon.
-in the morning i give her her milk and we have some sacred things we say and do with each other, things only between she an i.
-she hates to sleep during the day, but needs it oh so much.

more to come...she's stirring.

half marathon...

i'm running 13.1 this sunday. i've kept this a secret for months now, afraid of what others might think. i don't look like a runner, whatever that means, and i'm so afraid of what people will think when they hear that i'm running a half marathon. why do i care? GOOD QUESTION. i'm not sure, really. the other reason i wanted to keep it a secret is because i'm running for me. i can run that far, i've trained for it, and i want to do it. my husband knows (obviously) and is waaaaay proud and supportive. i've got a real gem.

henry ford said "if you think you can or you can't, you're right." in this journey i'm having to tell myself that i can a whole lot. i guess i'm really believing it now.

so, world...i'm a runner. and i'm running a half marathon this sunday. there you go.