Columbus Half-Marathon

This past Sunday, for the first time in three years, I woke up worrying about a race.  At 3am, thanks to JD deciding he was hungry, I got up and couldn't get back to sleep.  All for good reason, because by 5:30, I needed to be up and ready to prepare for the Columbus 1/2 Marathon. 

I had trained for the last three months and even had encourage Katy, my sister to do it with me.  Unfortunately, Saturday morning I got the call from Katy and she was still sick and had decided she couldn't run it.  That meant I was going to be on the adventure all by myself; it was a bit scary but I had have done it before so knew I could do it again.

So, Sunday morning, I snuggled with my little man at 3am and told him how I was going to leave early and head downtown to show him that no matter what happens in life, having a goal and accomplishing it is very important.  Especially goals that involve keeping yourself healthy and happy.

It was the most beautiful weather and thanks to the amazing support of my friends and family, the 13.1 miles went by fast and were, dare I say it; fun?! 

Along the way, Natalie and Naomi were there with a great big orange sign and countless supporters cheered me on.  I especially enjoyed watching a mother/son team that was keeping about my same pace.  It was so cool for me to think that I started training for this to share with JD that he can do anything.  Then to imagine the two of us doing it together someday--that would be amazing!

At the finish, I will never forget Taylor, my niece looking up at my medal and asking "Baba, did you win?" I proudly answered her; "Yes, Taylor, I did win."

We all win each time we take risks and challenge ourselves.  In my lifetime, I have been honored to witness great successes from athletic accomplishments, to GPA and graduations, to seeing Lee persevere each day just to take a step.  No matter what life will bring JD's way, he will know that if he works hard--he can do anything. 

So our Sunday Fun-day; was a bit more fun for me than JD.  I think the finish line frightened him but it will be a day that I will remember and tell him about, time and time again.  He was the main reason I decided to try to do another half-marathon and he was the reason I finished.