Read about my Half Marathon experience from Jan, 2023
It’s been almost a month since I ran my half marathon and I have been hesitant to share my experience on here since it was such a meaningful experience with a lot of feelings surrounding it.
For starters, I ACTUALLY DID RUN MY PERSONAL BEST!
Maybe not a huge deal since I’ve only ever ran 1 other halfy in my life, but I impressed myself because I beat my last year's time by ALMOST 10 MINUTES
I officially clocked in at 2hr 17mins with a 10:28 pace.
Ugh Doubts
I went into the run with a lot of doubts about myself, doubts because I had a really hard year.
I got very ill, I gained weight, I dealt with friends/ family leaving my life, infidelity/ toxicity from someone whom I thought loved me, and just went through a year that tested and grew me in a lot of scary ways.
Because of this I developed quite a few negative thoughts about myself, but I kept pushing through and showing up for myself in the only way I knew how to.
A Lesson in Progress
Sometimes it’s hard to believe in progress when progress only happens in tiny increments. You don’t see it until you look back several months/ years down the road and truly recognize how much you’ve changed.
Progress doesn’t always show up in ways we except it to either. Sometimes it’s not tied to the number on the scale or based on how many people stay in our lives. Those are ways we trick ourselves into believing we in fact, have never gotten better.
This run was a lesson in true progress. Yeah, maybe I am 15 lbs heavier than last time I ran this race, maybe no one showed up to support me and I crossed the finish line alone.
BUT I learned that I am stronger in ways I could never have imagined.
I realized that I am so much stronger spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
I realized that the anxiety I felt last year on my run was gone because this year the toxic people/ thoughts about myself were gone, the mold poisoning- gone.
I have less bloating, I sleep better, I have more energy, I am excited to finally be myself again.
Who the heck cares what the scale says when I know how I FEEL?!
God's Grace
God takes you through tough days, weeks, years, and even decades sometime, but only to lovingly prune you and sanctify you.
Realizing that I am not a victim of this past year was FREEING, the hard times were only a doorway to realizing GOD’S STRENGTH is perfect in MY WEAKNESS. This is why I believe I did so well on my run!
He trades the ashes for beauty, the mourning for joy, the spirit of heaviness to a garment of praise!
Why? So that he may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3
Praise God for closing my doors and opening his new ones no matter how much it hurts.
Be well.
-Coach Katie