Let me start by saying that this has been the most amazing journey of my life. If I can encourage or inspire just one little person by doing this blog then it has been well worth the time and effort of writing this. So many have asked, "So what made you decide to run a marathon?" My reply to this question was completely different in the beginning so I'll answer it in past tense...."Oh, I wanted to loose that dreaded 15 lbs. that I put on during the first year in marriage, or quite simply...Vanity. Not to mention trying to turn back the hands of time.....so here begins my story!

Just last summer, a couple months before turning the dreaded 35, I ran across a 5k in downtown Kennesaw that was actually ON my birthday so I said why not. At the time, I was running maybe 1 mile and struggling because I have never been able to run. I made a commitment and spoke it aloud and there....it's done. Two months of training it took me to do this 3.2 miles and it was hard. I mean, really hard. Afterwards I swore I would never run again. Looking back, it makes me smile. As soon as the race was over I was headed back to the gym and lifting weights like I had always done. What I found odd was that every time I walked into the gym....those treadmills were calling my name. I kept running and was really beginning to enjoy it. What? I kept asking myself....you like running? Okay! And so then came my 2nd 5k at Thanksgiving(The Acworth Turkey Chase) to help with a food drive to feed the hungry. This time...I noticed something similar that had happened during my first race....every time I started running at the starting line, I would begin to cry. Somehow, this became an emotional experience for me. Weird I know but I AM sensitive.
The holidays had come and gone and I had totally blown every bit of excercise that I had done over the last few months. I came home from Christmas and knew that I had to challenge myself to do something because I surely wasn't going to be a fat wife. Fat by my standards anyway. I began looking around and found the Georgia ING Marathon and thought to myself..."Are you crazy?" I guess so!
I found a training schedule online and saw that it was 13 weeks of training starting with 3 miles of running and it was exactly 14 weeks until the actual race. I printed it out and put it on the fridge. Well, maybe I posted it on Facebook first...LOL! Now, I spoke it aloud, so I was really committed to doing the unimaginable....running 13.1 miles. Dear God, have I lost my mind! Nope, but I will loose that weight I thought!
I told Bob what my plan was and he looked at me and asked me what made me think I could run 13 miles and I replied, "what makes you think I can't." My husband is my biggest fan but he was just being a realist and I love him for that.
Well, my first thought was that I have to get me some new running sneaks so off to Big Peach I went. This is the store where the "real runners" go was my thought and I was super excited to get me some super magic sneaks...LOL! Oh yeah, I'm ready to rock and roll! I made it through the first 2 weeks great and then the shin splints kicked in. Ouch....very painful but I figured it must be the shoes so I went back for a "re-fit" and got different ones. They were fine but to this day.....3 months later.....I STILL have shin splints. WOW...who knew I would get used to these things?
The training continued, just as scheduled, and I would mark the days off as I completed them. Each and every week I would look at that Sunday long run that would begin with 4 miles and end with 10 with the dreaded question in my mind..."how on earth are you going to run that far this week, Jess?" Guess what? I did it. Week in and week out the runs became longer and longer. Something started happening along the way....expected and unexpected for sure. I knew I would loose weight and boy was it coming off fast. My diet had changed completely....no sodas, no white food, lots of water, wonderful whole foods, and vitamins. I am an all or nothing kind of person so it was just part of the training for me. What I wasn't expecting was this sense of accomplishment that I felt. I mean, talk about happy. I had never felt better (except my shins of course). Wow....this is wonderful. Who knew that I would feel this great and jump up out of bed at 5:30 in the morning with a spring in my step to do what? RUN! I was hooked for sure! The time kept passing, the days being checked off, and I was on cloud nine. I was beginning to realize that my body wasn't the only thing changing here but my inner soul was changing. I mean, dang, I felt as though I was becoming a better person in ALL areas of my life. My personal life was better. My confidence in my professional life was growing. Who knew?
I ended up pushing and pushing and completing these "long runs" with ease every week and my mental strength is what was making my physical self keep up. Your mind makes you run is what I was realizing...the mind body connection. Only, I think mentally, I was growing beyond my wildest dreams. Lets get to 2 weeks ago.....my 9 miler. What a fantastic run. All the way til the 9th mile and holy tamoly....what in God's name is that pain in my right knee? I hobbled through the last mile as best as I could and was devastated b/c I knew it had to be something serious. I got home and sat in the dreaded "ice bath" which was a normal thing now. That really makes me laugh that ice baths are normal. What I learned is this pain is ITBS or an IT band injury. My first thought was oh NO....are you kidding me? Does this mean that I can't run my race after all of this? I knew for sure I was done. Well, it began to get better. I knew I had the endurance to run the 13 if I could do the 9 so all I had to focus on is rehabbing this injury for the next 2 weeks. I had to do this so I could get through this race. That is what I did. It felt much better and before I knew it....it's today....Race day!
Woot, woot...I am up at 4 am just to have my coffee and breakfast so I could be ready to fly at 7 am. Bob and my sister are going with me to cheer me on. I couldn't imagine doing this without these two with me. After all.....they are my biggest fans. They weren't very happy leaving the house at 5:30 a.m. but they did it anyway. Wow....I have been looking forward to this for months now and it's finally here! I get up to where I cross the Start line and off we go.
It's nice and cool out but not cold. The sun isn't even up yet! I felt great! I've never been so excited or worked so hard in my life for anything. I am running my first half marathon! Everything was awesome. The race was going well! Better than I had expected. I felt my leg starting to act up just around mile 5 and so I strapped the band on and kept on running. This certainly wasn't going to stop me and besides...this is just a precaution. It's a little tight but I'll be okay, so I thought. As the miles kept flying by...I was feeling great! I had made my own honey packets for me to eat to give me that "go-go" energy I would need to complete the longest run of my life. As the miles kept flying by, my knee was also getting a little worse. By mile 8 I realized I might be in trouble but I was still doing okay. Mile 10 I thought to myself only 3 miles left but I was in a pretty good amount of pain by then. Wow, it just kept getting harder and harder and I was really scared and freaking out by mile 11 but I kept on going. I knew I would regret it later but I wasn't about to give up on my goal. Holy cow....talk about hurting...I literally felt like someone could chop off my leg and I was really, really getting nervous that I wasn't going to make it. Fear and panic set in and I didn't know what to do but keep running. I mean, for God's sake, I am in the last mile of this race and there's no turning back now. I was already hurt so how bad could it get? The last mile....mile 13 was God awful. I had to run up to each telephone pole and stretch my knee really quick and then keep going. I really wanted to finish in LESS that 2 and a half hours but I didn't see it happening. By the last half of the mile I thought I was dying but I kept on running. Actually, I was hobbling, but I wasn't walking, I was still running. I had thought that maybe I should stop and call Bob and tell him I couldn't finish and then I stretched one last time and kept on until I saw that finish line just ahead of me. Boy was I happy....I picked up the hobble running pace and was going to get across that finish line...I will not quit is what I was saying to myself and by the grace of GOD....WOOOO, I made it. The tears were just running rampant down my face and the lady putting the medal across my neck asked me if I was okay. I smiled and said, "yes"! Poor thing, she had NO idea what this meant to me! I cannot believe it! I just finished the unthinkable! I ran my first half marathon AND I was injured AND did it in 2:25:26 For the very first time in my life I could understand why athletes do what they do. I mean hey, I am no athlete and never have been!
So, to sum up this amazing, life changing experience......I have gained so much more that a strong physique because in the end, when my physical strength was failing me it was my mental strength that pushed me across that finish line. Now THAT is much more that what I expected to gain out of this experience and once I get this leg healed, THAT is what is going to get me to the starting line of my next race! I, little Mrs. Priss, have become a runner for life!