The night before race day has arrived...
A HUGE milestone for us and another half marathon to complete.
This series that includes 3 Texas Bridges will be complete after tomorrow morning!
It's a BIG goal with many TOUGH obstacles but we haven't let it stop us yet.
Race #1 was the Kemah Toughest 10K over the bridge not twice but FOUR times...it was TOUGH but we all finished!!! And would you look at those smiles??!
Race #2, Toughest 10K Galveston! This one was surprisingly easier than Kemah but still VERY TOUGH! But we did it...and we had some new faces too :)
And here he is, Fred.
He's a BEAST isn't he?
Uh Oh.
He's the 3rd bridge in this series but instead of a 10K, it's a half marathon!! OVER it twice!
Yikes.
Fred and I have a history...
I ran this half marathon two years ago and swore to myself I'd NEVER run this bridge again...
Why?
Because it defines TOUGH. It defines pushed beyond limits. It defines strong.
I pushed with ALL that I had to complete this race in the past and while I did it, I hurt afterward. It took EVERYTHING that I had...
I was sore, achy and exhausted so you're probably wondering why I'd come back to conquer this bridge AGAIN???
I'm not running it alone.
I will have my Move It Mommas right there, as they have been in both bridge races for this series...and they are nervous, as am I but we're going to do this.
Three miles EACH way, six miles total ON THAT BRIDGE...
So why?
Well since changing my life,
I have this giddy excitement when I complete things that seem out of my reach.
I get thrilled about doing things that were UNTHINKABLE to the "old me".
Crazy, isn't it?
There's always a point in these races where I am exhausted, hurting and feel it has defeated me...all of a sudden my mind and body find a way to DIG DEEPER and to KEEP PUSHING to that finish line and in that moment, nothing else matters.
It's me and the pavement.
One foot in front of the other.
My body, my breathing.
It's quiet and I'm full of fear yet fearless at the same time.
THAT is why I keep coming back for more...
Because I CAN.
In that same moment of fear, I feel so alive.
It's amazing.
I cross the finish line and I see the smiling faces of the strong women around me. We gather, give sweaty hugs and snap pictures because while we were so nervous, we doubted IF we could do it and we were so fearful of the unknown...
WE DID IT!
And why must we keep proving that we can? I guess because WE CAN! And we don't need to prove anything really, but we do because WE CAN!
And we enjoy knowing that we CAN because we work hard to be healthy.
We work hard to be strong and we want to FEEL alive more than we want to feel defeated.
Races are a place of inspiration.
The people. The hugs. The nerves. The like-minded friends beside you.
Runners young and old, tall and short...we all come together to achieve the SAME goal...
CROSS THAT FINISH LINE.
13.1 miles is a looooong way and tougher when you have six miles over that big, nasty bridge BUT that's what makes it even greater...a bigger challenge. A bigger fight. We will fight every one of those 13 miles and then keep pushing for that .1!!!!
So one more why?
These crazy races represent my life before getting healthy and losing weight and that finish line represents my life the way it is today!
I fought HARD for years.
I still fight hard to avoid temptations.
I fight hard to wake up with enough motivation to get out move and exercise! It's not easy.
So that start line is how I felt for years.
I was nervous about change. I was afraid to seek change. I was fearful to work SO hard for something only to fall short before "finishing"...
So in my past,
3...2....1...GO! and I'd stop. Why?
Because I let fear paralyze me. The first step was too scary so I'd give up by making excuses.
Sometimes I'd START but when things got hard, my breathe became weak and my legs were tired, I'd quit...
I mean if I quit my legs would not be tired, my breathe would go back to normal right? But had I made any changes or was I still sunk in that deep hole I buried myself in? Yep.
The start line is a glimpse. It's the way things COULD be if we had the guts to keep going...
As we near the finish line, we start to feel ALIVE. We feel emotions we haven't felt in a long time. We feel pride for ourselves...not anybody else in that moment, just us. And that's important. We deserve that.
There's the FINISH LINE.
Here we go....
WE DID IT!
So once I'd reach that finish line, I figured I was done but now I realize if I'm comparing these races to my road to healthy living,
the finish line is NOT the end...
Instead it is the beginning!
The beginning of feeling THIS way more often...almost always.
That feeling we get from being exhausted from exceeding our limits is better than never pushing our limits AT ALL, isn't it? YES.
Our body was meant to be pushed. Meant to be tested and meant to be challenged...
And tomorrow when I cross another 13.1 mile finish line, I will get THAT feeling once again. And while I'm nervous, anxious, feel like it MIGHT defeat me,
I will keep fighting and placing one foot in front of the other because I CAN.
Because I am able.
I will do it for the old me that NEVER thought she could.
I will do it for all those that cannot do it for themselves.
I will do it because I CAN!
And my Mommas? They can TOO!
Cannot wait to conquer this huge milestone on my journey and share the beautiful moments as they do the same!!! What a beautiful "job" I have. These women and I are able to share moments at these finish lines that can NEVER be replaced and I'm forever grateful for that!
And as if that wasn't enough action for this weekend! I co-hosted the 5K FUN RUN-COLOR RUN at my sons school this morning! I MC'd the race, we pulled it off with A LOT of hard work and was able to watch my boys cross the finish line!!!
Then I rushed home, showered and got dressed for a best friends baby shower to host! Came home from that to spend some quality time with my three boys that I love most and then its up EARLY for my meeting with Fred!
LETS DO THIS!!!!
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