Half Marathon

 A week and a half ago, Cara and I ran Dam to Dam's first half marathon, the previous years were a 20K. But, as any runner knows, training started way before this. 

I began training in March and learned quite a bit from training for a half marathon. 

Perseverance: I wanted to work on the character quality of being persistent (the good persistent). There were SO many times I wanted to quit or to just snip a few minutes off a run. I prayed, if I could work on being persistent in something physical, it would spread into my walk with the Lord and being persistent with the girls. 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

Humility:  I'm quite competitive and a sprinter by nature. Therefore, I KNEW I was going to be beat by so many other runners and possibly my own sister. Training helped me realize how much pride is still hidden in different areas of my life. 

James 4:6

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Go With the Flow: 6 weeks before race day, the girls got sick for a week which lead to me getting sick for a week. That means 2 full weeks without running. It wasn't ideal, but I think the Lord was teaching me to trust Him and literally to rest in Him. 

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God..."

Okay- Here are the pics!

All ready to go at 5 in the morning!

Cara and me.

Minutes before take off!

Way off in the distance is the finish line.

About 200 meters from the finish.

A wonderful group of encouragers!

 I'm not sure, but I just realized we forgot to take a picture with my parents. :(  They are two of the best encouragers Cara and I have. They cheered us on in so many different sports growing up and drove down to cheer us on that day. We are beyond thankful for their heart to encourage us. I think the best chance of getting a picture is to photoshop us together as I don't intend to run a half marathon again. I commend runners, but I am not one :)

Excited to say I bet my goal of 2:30 and finished at 2:22 @ a 10:53/mile pace. 

Good enough for me :)