If at first you don't succeed...

Good afternoon! Well as some of you may have noticed, I didn't blog about our long run last week. That's because I wasn't ready to write down another failure. I wanted my next blog to be positive, uplifting and successful but last week's run didn't fit any of those characteristics. We started out attempting our 16 mile run and it was hot and windy and we didn't have enough fluid for the both of us, and I cramped up and had to quit. About 6 miles short. Not good. So I had resolved that I was going to work really hard last week to run exactly what I was suppose to and conquer the 16 again this last weekend. So I ran my 4 miles, then 8 miles, and then 5 miles...took Friday and Saturday off (because Jerod played golf with his brother for his birthday) and we ran last night. It was another chamber of commerce evening and I decided to take my own water with me so I could stay good and hydrated. My frame of mind was completely different from the week before because I had succeed in my training during the week and I knew I had to do this in order to stay mentally healthy until the marathon. The funny thing is, Jerod and I were having disagreements about where to run. I did not want to run in the middle of nowhere again and get stuck having to walk four miles to the nearest public place, and he wasn't sure about running around town because it was hard to mark off exactly 16 miles. But I finally won and we ran around town. Our kids stayed with my parents and they agreed to bring us water when we called and said we needed it. (That was another thing that was different...it was the first time we had taken a phone with us on a long run.) So at mile 10 they brought us water and re-marked our last 6 miles for us because we were bored running around and around the city park. I was feeling really good at mile 10 and could tell that I was going to complete this challenge. I was going to succeed! I also was running longer than I had since our 13 mile run a month ago and my legs were feeling okay. Tired, yes, but not cramping or hurting. It was so helpful to have my parents bring us fresh water and to have my daughter hang out the car window saying, "I love you mommy! Good job mommy!" and ask for kisses. That may have been just the mental energy I needed to finish. Remember me saying this was a mental game? Well, I need mental energy just like I need physical energy to finish. It makes me so happy that our kids are going to the marathon with us and my mom has agreed to go also. She is so excited for us and we even bought her a bright orange Team World Vision t-shirt to sport around on the airplane ride over there and during the race. Since we are not able to have a normal team setting during our team runs and it's just me and Jerod, I find myself needing more and more of that mental energy and I couldn't ask for it to come from a better place than my kids. I did find however, that during miles 12-15, you begin to become a little delirious. Jerod started acting like he was playing chicken with the oncoming traffic, we had a water fight right there on the side of the road, and one of my favorite songs came on and I started singing as loud as I could. Yes, all while we were running! If us running didn't make people think we were crazy enough, then the nuts running down the road singing and having a water bottle fight sure would have solidified it. But I don't care because after 3 hrs 20 minutes, and 16 miles we were not fighting anymore and nothing can bond two people like accomplishing that challenge together. I'm so proud to be running for Team World Vision, I'm so proud that my kids and mom are coming all that way to support us, I'm so happy that I'm getting to experience all of this with my husband, and I'm so proud to be doing all of it in the name of the Lord! I'm excited!!!! And...the best news of all....I can actually walk today! Have a great one!