A long post with no pictures :)

I ran eight and a quarter miles today. It's unequivocally the most I have ever run at one time in my entire life. I mentioned a while back that I was going to train for a half marathon. Before I began training, the most I had ever run was a 5K (3.2 miles). I'm going to go ahead and say without reservation that I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far!

I have never desired to run a marathon or half marathon until recently. My family has gone through some difficult things in the past several months. I came back from Utah to Colorado after Christmas with a lot of stress and negative energy about the things that were happening. My method of coping was to run. I began pushing myself to my utmost limits. I felt like it was a positive way to deal with a negative situation. I began thinking about a half. I asked my mom and sister if they had any interest in training "with" me (meaning we would be doing the same type of workouts, but obviously in different places). Ash bowed out gracefully, but my mom said she wanted to try it. So we have been working "together" to accomplish this goal.

I have gained a whole lot from my training experiences. First, it has brought me a lot closer to my mother as we have triumphed in one another's successes. There is something so unifying about working together toward a common goal.

Second, it has given me an incredible appreciation for my physical body. Many mornings as I watch my reflection in the glass of the gym windows, I am awed by how flawlessly my many parts work together to make my body run! It has strengthened my testimony of a Creator who formed me. As a woman, there are plenty of things about my body that I don't love, but it has made me so grateful that I have a body at all!

Third, and probably most importantly, it has given me confidence that I can do hard things. I feel like if I can do things that are difficult physically, I can also do things that are difficult emotionally/spiritually. It has been a process that has really helped me to heal.

That being said, I am not done yet! I still have five miles to go to reach my goal. But I now have confidence that I can do it. So, Utah Valley Half Marathon, here we come! A very determined mother/daughter team is on our way!