Never say never

As a kid growing up, I watched my Dad finish marathon after marathon.  By the time I was a teenager he had run 20 marathons.  He tried to get me involved in running, but it never took.  For pretty much my entire life, I jogged sporadically for exercise but never seriously.  Three miles was the farthest I worked up to, and I never had much enthusiasm to try to push further.  Until this year. 

A little over a week ago, Mike and I flew down to Orlando, Florida (Disney World!), and on October 2 at 10pm, I started jogging with a crowd of over 12 thousand at the Disney Wine&Dine half-marathon.  A little after midnight on October 3, I finished my first half-marathon--13.1 miles!

Mike and I pre-race

It was so much fun! The course took you through three Disney parks, and there were bands and characters along the way cheering on the runners.  We ended in Epcot for a late-night party, and got back to our hotel sometime around 4am.  The whole experience was a blast from start to finish, and I can't explain how excited I am about this accomplishment.  It's huge for me.  A year ago, I would have never believed I would be able to run this distance.  I ran more slowly than I hoped and missed my target time by about 10 minutes, but I could care less.  I finished a half-marathon, running the entire race (except planned walking through the water stops), and that's all that matters.

I spent the next several days pretending I was Minnie Mouse.

It was a much needed vacation from home, from work, and I admit, even from knitting.  Despite great intentions, I did almost no knitting.  I think I needed the break.  I'm ready to make all kinds of progress now.  Let the fall knitting begin!