As you know, my word for the year is "complete". I plan on completing quite a bit this year. First it was finishing Maggie's quilt. Then it was getting S+P open to help de-stash some things around here.
The Shamrock Marathon is held every year around this time down at the beach. Last year I ran the last mile with the youngest. What a wake up call! I have always thought of myself to be in pretty good shape. I garden, I get out with the boys to ride bikes, kick the soccer ball. We kayak and walk on the beach, etc. But it wasn't until I tried to run that mile that I realized how out of shape I was. I couldn't catch my breath and realized something needed to change.
Since then, I have been meeting a friend at the gym two or three times a week. And Saturday I completed my first 8K.
Crossing the finish line was a bit emotional for me. I didn't want to get all blubbery...its only 5 miles after all. But it is the first thing I've done for myself, not anyone else, in a very, very long time.
This little race against myself was such an outward expression of the growing and stretching that is going on inside.
Now I find myself asking, "what next?" with great excitement.
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Oh, and all three boys have been running an entire marathon after school on Mondays. They finished their final 1.2 miles on Saturday as well. The older two crossed the finish line together with a time of 6:50 and the 5-year old finished his 1.2 miles (with S alongside) in 8:39. So, so proud of you boys!