Texas Half Marathon

After the race - the Abernathy Girls - Angie, me, and Jara

Avery had gathered sticks as she was waiting for me at the finish line.
This was my "stick bouquet".

When Jara got there, she got to carry the bouquet for a while too.

Dad & Mom brought Avery down to cheer us on!
It was a huge encouragement
to have them there

Right after Jara's finish. It's hard to stand up straight

when you just ran 13.1 miles!

The girl on the right is a friend of Angie's from

the Metroplex who ran the race too.

Angie & Jara

At the finish line! You have a little "chip" that you attach to your shoe and when you run across the mat at the beginning of the race, it starts your time, and when you run across it as the picture shows at the finish line, it stops your chip. My main goal was to run the whole race without walking, which I was able to do. I also beat my time goal, so it was a great day!

At mile 9. Mom, Dad and Avery were there to cheer me on, which was a good place because by this point I was getting tired! And clearly the man in front of me was too!

Near mile 9.

It was an absolutely PERFECT day, weather wise, and the course was beautiful, around White Rock Lake in Dallas. The course was not, however, FLAT, as my brother-in-law had said it was. Since we trained on the plains of West Texas, the hills were killers.

"Did you win?"

When someone asks me this question, I know they are not a runner.

Runners understand that it's not so much a competition against the others there, but an inward competition - to see if you can conquer a challenge that sometimes seems too big to be attempted. It's about taking something that's going on inside of you, and putting it on the outside.

The race is not so much about the hours you are actually out there running at the "race event". For me, this was a compilation of about 90 previous days of juggling schedules, hearing the blaring alarm at 5:00 - telling me to go out in freezing temperatures to get the day's run in before Gabe left for work, and pushing myself on the days I didn't feel like doing what was on the schedule. One day I even threw a large tantrum when I needed to do a 10 mile long-run and the winds were blowing at 40 mph! There were lots of days I felt like giving up. So why did I do it? I think it has to do with perseverance.

I have noticed a pattern in my life. Many times, for me, when God is renewing my spirit, my motivation for physical fitness (in this case, running) is an outward expression of what's going on inside. This past year the Lord has worked in my heart like never before. I praise Him for not leaving me alone, but for stretching me, teaching me, and changing me. My desire to run this race, I know, was God-given. He has been my training partner, my sustainer, my helper, my courage.

On many days, that encouragement came in human form. On November 6th, in my prayer journal, I told God I had committed to this 1/2 marathon and asked him to provide a friend to do it with me. I knew that without accountability, I would most likely fail. I had no idea who would possibly want to do this race though, and didn't have anyone in mind. Two days later, I was talking to my friend Jara, who has not been much of a runner in recent years, and she AND our friend Angie both determined to do it with me. They helped me believe that I could do it, and were an incredible inspiration and encouragement through the experience.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. "

Hebrews 12:1-2