Monday Motivation: Another 1/2 in the books

The difference between a jogger 

and a runner 

is an entry blank. 

~George Sheehan

So yesterday's half was unlike any half I have ever done. I mentored someone on their first half. Oops, have done that before. I did this half without training. Oops, I do that too often. I did this half with my super amazing cousin who 6 weeks ago had emergency surgery to remove her gallbladder. Yup, this was definitely a first. WOW! For her first half she was completely derailed when her long run had only hit 4 miles. My sweet cousin was also engaged at the time and had planned to get married later in the year. Well taking 6 weeks off from work really threw off her plans to take time off later in the year to get married. So she and her sweetie decided to make the best of her 6 week set back and tied the knot. This is us walking on her wedding night, a very different picture from our half picture. I love that she makes the best of every situation.

After 6 weeks off she went back to the gym and was up to 3 miles. She called me and to my surprise said she still wanted to try the half. I on the other hand had stopped training completely thinking she probably wouldn't run it. I had no interest in a half this spring, I have been lazy busy with work-life and only decided to do this run to support my cousin. C decided she needed to take a more active role in her health when her brother had a heart attack earlier this year. This was a HUGE way of showing herself and her family that her health was important to her for herself and her family. This is us with our game faces on.

We didn't have a plan. She is new to running so I packed the fuel belt, where it didn't even occur to her we would need anything. Having not trained, I was inclined to walk in the first mile and assumed we'd walk the whole thing. Nope, not C, she said I at least want to run the first mile and we did it in 11:50, her fast mile ever! From that point forward we ran and we walked in increments. When we were fresh we'd run half mile at a time and sometime that "run" only lasted about a quarter mile. But mile by mile we concurred the course. It wasn't until mile 10.5 that C truly hit her physical wall and the decision to walk and finish injury free. We ran a bit in the 13th mile and certainly that last .1 which was pretty awesome.

I am so proud of C and her commitment to show up, push her limits each mile and finish. For me it was like reliving my first time to be with her and witness the pain, the achievement and the sheer pride she felt for herself knowing she was doing something so great and so individual. To accomplish something that only you can own is pretty tremendous. Now don't get me wrong, yes I respect family support etc to get the miles in, but at the end of the day the person who puts one foot in front of the other and cross that line gets the glory, and a glorious moment it was. We went to one of my favorite restaurants The Tower Cafe for breakfast after. Way too much food, we both had to pack doggy bags. She had the Denver Omlette and their famous french toast. I had the Oaxacan eggs (corn tortilla, refried beans, corn tortilla, two eggs, mole and cotija cheese. My pancake was made from cornmeal and blueberries and complete rocked my world there and as left overs for me and my two kids this morning. It was a lot of pancake LOL.

After a hot shower and short nap my hubby made me this fantastic dinner: filet mignon, asparagus, grilled mushrooms and onion with garlic, sweet potatoes and Israeli pesto couscous. I couldn't finish this meal either.

The Big Picture: It doesn't matter why I went out there, I too got out there and I too get to be proud of me.

Why I Kick A$$: Despite limited physical activity, my body still remembers what 13.1 feels like and that is why I kick a$$. Thank you legs!

Thankful Three

1. For the amazing breakfast we had after the run
2. For the amazing dinner I had that night
3. For family who inspires me