10 Miles

This is a longwinded post about me. I warned you!

Yesterday marked a great achievement for me, I ran 10 miles for the first time. Here's a little background on why I decided to tackle this.

Growing up I was very goal oriented and self motivated. I wanted the best grades, to graduate in the top 10 of my class, to be in all the honor clubs, and to be in the top chairs in orchestra. (I did accomplish all of those things.) In college, I needed good grades again and graduated with straight A's. Never once did I consider myself an athlete or interested in sports. I did go to the gym to fit into my wedding dress, though. I was more of a geeky bookworm, just ask Judd!!

At the end of this school year I will have completed my eighth year of teaching and a couple months later celebrate my 9 year wedding anniversary! As I look back over the years, so many great things have happened to Judd and I. We bought our first house at quite a young age, we moved to Texas (for an adventure), we have good jobs, we have the best of friends, we have a great church family, and BEST of all we have beautiful EVIE! Even with all these great things I would say that in the past two years I have become lost in the daily routine of being a mother and a wife, doing chores, and working (without any family around- but some good friends to lend a hand). After a rough start to this school year, I decided to work towards a personal goal. For some reason I picked running. Maybe I picked it because it was uncharted territory in my life. I needed something new to accomplish. Since making that decision in September, I haven't stopped running.  After meeting my goals of 3 miles and 6 miles, I decided to tackle the ultimate: a half marathon! That leads up to yesterday...

Friday night I psyched myself to run 10 miles the next morning. I ate a carbo-liscious meal of beef and rice noodles. I drank lots of water. I mapped my route on MapMyRun. I set my alarm clock for 5:40am. I laid out my clothes and shoes. I packed my running belt with water and a snack. Everything was ready to go! When my alarm went off at 5:40am I rolled out of bed, ate a Power Bar, stretched, and got dressed. I set out for my run at 6:15. It was a great morning with cool air and a slight breeze. During my two hours of running I passed MANY runners and saw many places in my town (like the Duck Pond park) that I have never noticed before. It was a version of very slow motion sightseeing. At six miles I took a break at Andy Brown Park where I went to the bathroom, refilled my water bottles, and ate a snack -this weird energy gel/ goo. With only four miles ahead (45 minutes), I knew I could make it. With about a half mile left Judd texted me a picture of Evie eating breakfast- waffles topped with Nutella. That was the perfect motivation to finish the last 5 minutes. Within in 2 hours, 1 hour 58 minutes, burning 884 calories, I ran my first 10 miler! With a couple weeks left, I will be ready for 13.1 miles on May 1!