Seven years ago, I trained for a half marathon. Several weeks into the training I began to wonder why I had decided to take on this race. My body ached everywhere. Three weeks before the race I began to experience intense pain in my left foot. It was a searing pain right below my toes on the pad of my foot. It hurt with each step! I could barely make it down the stairs much less finish my long training runs. I had spent the past three months of my life training five days a week to finish my scheduled race. It had become a large focus of my life and time, and I wanted to finish. Quitting at this point was not an option. I was going to compete on that Saturday in June, even if I had to walk the 13.1 miles.
I really didn’t want to walk!
After several trips to the Podiatrist and cutting my required mileage, my foot began to feel a little better. It was not completely healed, but I felt somewhat confident in my ability to finish the race.
The Saturday morning of the Asphalt Kickers half marathon dawned sunny and cool. The race started at 6:30am, and the temperature was mild, but I knew by 9:00am it would be hot. I stood in the group of runners waiting for the gun to go off with butterflies the size of pigeons in my stomach.
Did I have time to go to the bathroom before the gun?
Did I eat enough breakfast this morning?
Did I eat too much breakfast?
Why did I do this?
As the gun pops the runners explode. I am in the middle of the group and work to pass some walkers, but also not get run over by the serious racers. I soon find a comfortable rhythm as I run with a few other ladies that seem to be my speed. The race goes by fairly quickly, which is amazing considering it took me two hours to finish! My foot survived the ordeal as well.
I will never forget the sense of joy and accomplishment I felt as I crossed the finish line. It was a moment of intense pride. I had set a goal and I accomplished it. The training was intense and not without considerable pain, but the end was worth the trouble of the process.
All things worth doing in this life are difficult.
We fight for the rights of foster children at A Family For Every Child not because it is easy, or because the road is smooth. We fight because it is the right thing to do. We fight because the children stuck in the system deserve an advocate. We realize that most things worth doing usually require a lot of hard work.
Join us in our fight…Donate, Adopt, Mentor, Volunteer.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” – John F. Kennedy.
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