a family that runs together, stays together...

I mentioned a few months back that I was going to be running a Marathon with some of my family. So far I have been doing most of this training on my own, since my family lives in California. 

However I have been lucky the last couple months to have seen my family. Last month some of my family (&some of our marathon team) happened to be in town. It couldn't have worked out better, because they were going to be here on the day where we needed to run our longest distance yet. 10 miles.

You guys, I hate running. You might be asking yourself why on earth I am doing a marathon then? You see, I hate running, but I absolutely love the feeling I have after I run. Have I mentioned that on the blog before?

Sprinting comes much easier to me then Long distance running. Long distance running for me is a challenge. It doesn't come naturally to me. It is funny because I grew up playing sports. I always joked, the only way I could enjoy running is when I am focused on something else while doing it. For example Lacrosse. My love in high school was Lacrosse, and for me I could sprint the whole field and back over and over again without even thinking because I had a stick, a ball, and a goal. My mind was so focused on the game, not the fact that I was running.

When all I am going is running, I can't stop listening to my body telling me, "What are you doing? This isn't fun? Stop it." But I get a strong sense of accomplishment when I push through that voice and do something I know my body didn't want to do and was fighting against. Mind over body.

And that feeling?! Best ever. The endorphins and stress relieving doesn't hurt either :)

With my family in tow we woke up at 5:30 and ran a 10 mile run down along the Provo Canyon. It was breathtaking, and when I felt my body want to give up, when the blisters forming on the bottom of my feet began to scream, my knees started burning, I had my family rooting for me. Literally. At the end I was in so much pain and just wanting to walk the last mile and they kept telling me that I could do it, we were almost there. Encouraging me for the last mile, we actually even counted it down haha. 

Might sound silly, but I am so grateful for the type of family I have. We make an effort to be involved in each other's lives. We like to do things together, and encourage each other. During that run they were my support. It is great to know you can lean on your family, even for the little dumb things like a long run, haha. But truly... I just love that I have them no matter what.

If I hadn't had them to help me push through that run, I just know I wouldn't have been ready to handle the long runs that were to come every Saturday from now until the race. I was able to do the 11 and 12 miles without them, with much more ease, and felt great! I know that success is because they helped me get past my "wall."

I was lucky to have my family there for the 10 miler, and this past weekend I was lucky to be home for the longest run yet. This weekend I ran the longest I have ever run in my life. I was so scared to do it, and almost decided not to do it. But I knew I had my family there for support, so I went for it. 16 miles. I did it with my Dad :) I don't know if I could have done it without him, I probably could have, but having him by my side sure made it that much easier. It is fun to accomplish something together with someone you love.

Here is to 26.2 miles together with them in October, we can do it! :)