Last time I asked the question, to run or not to run. Well, I ran. I changed my registration to a half marathon and proceeded….I mean we had flights and room booked already and were looking forward to it. No regrets, I am so glad I went. It was slow, it was hilly, it was hot, it was hilly, it was beautiful, and did I mention it was hilly. I am not normally a quitter, down grading to a half was not an easy decision. This course was tough and I can say now that it was the right thing. I was hurting just after 13.1 miles. Oklahoma does not have enough hills to prepare me for that race. But it was beautiful. I remembered why I love to run. I met a few ladies who like me were just finishing. We talked, we laughed, we enjoyed the views. Mostly we encouraged each other. That’s the thing about runners, we aren’t super competitive with each other, we save that for ourselves. With other runners we encourage and cheer them on. I also remembered some advice someone gave me years ago-“there will come a day when you can no longer do this, today is not that day.” So slow and steady was how it went. I CAN so I did. Ignore the time, the heat, the pain and just keep moving, one foot in front of the other. I think maybe that’s true for most of life, just keep moving, find the beauty when you can and cheer each other on.
