Being a Part OF

Today was the third year I was able to take part in the Med City Marathon in Rochester, MN ( http://medcitymarathon.com/ ) and this year was different from the other two. The first one, I ran the half on my own, the second one I ran with a good friend for her first and this year, I ran the FULL relay with 3 other women.

It was fun to get up and watch them run, knowing that I was the last runner, fueled my fire. I didn't do so bad, knowing that I ran a half marathon the weekend before and did some heavy leg work this week. ( 6.56 mi in 54 min ) It felt good to know that I had them at the finish line waiting for me to run in with me as well as my children and a good friend waiting for me with their smiling faces at the end. I passed people on their last stretches of their full marathon and I thought to myself -- wow -- I remember that last 10K as Woo told me to do. It was definitely a 10K I'll never forget in my life, esp when seeing someone come in during/from their full marathon.

All in all the team did excellent, not having in all the proper training but knowing full well that we were a team and we needed to finish together. It's always fun running a race or being a participant in one in your home town. I loved all the support along the route - it was absolutely amazing!!!

We had a good time today and did a GREAT Job !! I'm proud to be part of such an amazing running community with people all around me running: their first, second, millionth or just plain ole running to support. I've forgotten how much I love the relay and the team efforts, esp of those that are just beginning and trying their hardest to get to a goal they never even imagined in the first place.

Today I was asked :

"How did you do and what was your time??"

I answered:

"We finished"

Again, they asked and your time was :

Again I answered with knuckles :

"We laughed, We finished and We smiled"

 It's not always about the times or the places in the races ~ Sometimes it's all about the fun time with people and enjoying the exercise together.






Putting pressure on myself and trying to get a certain time during my races had begun to ruin me -- today I did what a good friend told me to once do: " JUST RUN " I think I'll do more of that -- just running stuff. My livelyhood is not shown in times, it's showin in helping others do what they would like to achieve. My passion is not in the times that I set, the medals I gain or the finish lines, it's in the smiles on the peoples faces as I help them to achieve their goals and motivate them to that point. ONWARD TO 2013 -- Which BTW: WILL BE EPIC !!!

~~~ Finding me and finding out what I love and how to be me, is sooo amazing !! I do love exercise, I do need to push myself to my ultimate limits, but MORE IMPORTANTLY I NEED TO HELP OTHERS. It makes me: ME!! ~~~~

Thank you for all the support and appreciation during and for all races, runs and exercises!!!