Ponderings on the Half. (updated)

Hello all.. below are a few pictures.. the first is in response to Sarah's post about a dream backyard.. this past week we put in a birdbath, new flowerbed and got some great lights from target to string up from our large pecan tree to the corner.. My new favorite past time is sitting on the patio now!
the next photo is of the 4th of July parade that is in our neighborhood every year. the fire truck parks in front of our house! .. this is a shot with our home in the back and many of our friends in the yard waiting for it to start. There were prob. 200 people in the parade.. a great tradition and one reason we love living in our neighborhood :)

Well i have had two days to recover and today i am tired but not near as sore. I felt great after the run.. tired.. but great. A few hours later i started feeling tiredness in my thighs. I have been very very sore on my front thighs .. so sore infact that i can only discribe it as nothing like any weight lifting or leg extension machine could give.

I also have been eating every hour and a half since i finished the run. (well.. exept for when i was asleep :) .. I have been shocked .. really.. how its effected me. I read in the books that it takes two days to recover and i totally agree. I have been trying to feed my body what i crave, mostly fruits, veggies, beans.

....... well.. I took a two hour nap today and it seems it really helped me ! i am feeling so much better and looking forward to getting up and running tomorrow.. :) before track.

From MM book:

"The finish line is not the end. The finish line is the beginning. Standing at the starting line gives you permission to hope. Taking the time to train, putting in the mileage, making the changes in your life, and taking the risks has given you the consent to hopef or the best in yourself. The miracle is not that you finished, but that you had the courage to start.

Crossing the starting line also gives you permission to dream. You can dream about the perfect day, the perfect race, the perfect experience. It may not happen that way but it doesnt mean you shouldnt dream about it.

Crossing the starting line may be an act of courage, but crossing the finish line is an act of faith. And faith is one of the most powerful emotions you can experience.

Faith is what keeps us going when nothing else will. Faith is the emotion that conquers fear. Faith will give you victory over your past, the demons of your soul, and all of those voices that tell you you can and cannot do and can and cannot be. ..............
........
You have also leaned that what stops mos of us from achieving our dreams as athletes and as people are the confines of our imaginations. We can never be more than we imagine we can be. And as long as we restrict ourselves by our imaginations, we forever bind ourselves to our past and blind ourselves to our future.
Your limits lie behind you now. With that one final step across the finish line, you liberated yourself from everything you ever thought you knew about yourself. you have taken the very first step on the course of your destiny. "

if you run and you dont have this book.. GET IT.. its great!
click here to see the book

I had so many thoughts going through my head as i ran. So many visualizations.

• One of my favorite things i visualized was my internet gang running behind me. I could literally see you and hear your footsteps behind me.. i kept seeing with my minds eye myself turning around and seeing a big group of gals running just a few yards behind cheering for me!
• I also visualized myself crossing a real finish line, with a number and a crowd cheering.
  
• I thought of people i know who train for half's and fulls. Of my mother in law who found out the night before my run that she has a report from the doctor that was not good. I thought about my kids, my husband, i thought about my life, my body and what i could do with the rest of it :) I thought "why is the top of my left foot hurting so" .. but i kept running. I thought i should look into getting some of those gel nutrition packs to keep my energy levels up. I thought of how outrageous this whole thing was. Who was i to be doing this! I thought it was crazy. I prayed for all mentioned above, for their sick family members, I thanked the Good Lord for my life, my body, my family, my friends. In mile 11 I prayed that God would give me the mental and physical energy to finish.
  

A thousand thoughts. Its been an incredable experience. and i cant wait to do it again :) YES again.

here are the two pics i took before I walked out the door on friday..

This song i listened to over and over to get through the last 2 miles. "This is your life" by Switchfoot.





Are you who you want to be? I am still working on me :)