And, what a crazy journey it's been to get here!!
So, when I was told in 2002 that I might come out of surgery walking with a limp the rest of my life, then to wake up with full control of my left leg, I made a promise to the Lord that since He gave me back the ability to walk, that I would run for Him. When I first started running, I had no intention whatsoever to ever run a marathon. Really? Who does that? Less than 1% of Americans - that's who!! But, the more I ran, the more I chased the challenge. I did a 5k, then another, did a 10k, did my first half marathon in March 2011, then another in May 2011, and another in November 2011, meeting my goal of under 2 hours that time with a finishing time of 1:53. Still, I desperately wanted to be among the ranks of true marathoners, so I set my sights on running the Austin marathon in February. I researched how to eat, how to rest, and how to train, and came up with a pretty good gameplan. All went perfectly according to plan until I hit week 16 in my 18 week training program and started having shooting pain in my right knee. I tried everything - resting it, running through the pain - but, nothing helped. I reluctantly made the decision to not run in Austin for fear of causing even more damage if something was torn or seriously injured. I met with an orthopedist who checked it out and told me I had some cartilage loss that couldn't be reversed or repaired, but that if I decided to train again, he would help me with steroid shots, meds, etc. I knew if I didn't at least try it one more time, it would be a regret that I would live with forever. So, this time I picked the Dallas Marathon. I'm a cold weather runner, so I pick the ones that are in the winter with hopes that it'll be 40 degrees, sunny, and no wind that day (yeah, right!!). This time I decided to follow my own training plan, which included fewer long runs and more days off from running during the week, and I had no knee pain, or any other injuries at all. So.... a week and a half ago, I got up at 6 on Sunday morning, laced up my running shoes, pinned on my number, and joined almost 25,000 other like-minded, determined people and ran my first marathon. Even to type that gives me goosebumps. The weather was less than perfect, and I didn't come near my goal of finishing in 4 hours, but I did it, and it's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. "Now to Him, who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or think, according to His powers that work in us. To HIM be the glory."
