Project Complete

I signed up for a marathon several months ago. Then I hurt my knee/IT band/something that caused lots of pain. I stopped running for several weeks. About two weeks ago, I started running again. I did about two miles when I was in Austin for the weekend on my old running route. It was through neighborhoods and nowhere special, but I loved trekking through my former stomping grounds. I returned to Atlanta, kept stretching and managed to complete several other runs.

OK, I could maybe possibly attempt to run the half marathon.

Less than a week out, I ran 8.77 miles. My knee/IT band/whatever felt OK, so I was going to go for it.

Thursday afternoon, I left for NashVegas. One may think of live music and tourist events, but my time there was filled by reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. I saw people from college, grad school and Austin. We did a lot of nothing and a lot of resting. And it was awesome. If you know me at all, you know that I'm not that good at doing nothing and resting. I like to explore and play...all the time. But I am thankful for the time to just BE with people who I've known for more than a few minutes and who know me. It was awesome.

Race day was awesome, too. I ran with a friend who is so inspiring. Seven months ago, she was maybe able to run a mile. Three months ago, on a good day, she was up to three on a treadmill. I suggested that she run the half. She told me I was crazy. But then she registered for the race (maybe she was a little crazy?). Whatever. She did it. She ran all 13.1 miles. And it was awesome. We laughed. We talked. She met one of her favorite music stars and recognized someone from her favorite TV shows.

I'm glad that I did the half, even though my knee hurt a LOT toward the end (if not for Amber, I probably would have given up several miles before the finish line). It was a good time. And it also encouraged me to want to run a full marathon even more than I wanted to before. I'm not sure which one I'll pick for that...maybe Nashville again? Maybe San Antonio? Maybe Austin? Maybe Chicago? We'll see. If anyone reading this wants to run one - ideally on a Saturday - let me know, and maybe we can meet up to put ourselves through 26.2 miles of insanity. It'll be awesome!