You might not know this about how I run my business, but I sit down every month and plan out all the blog posts I’m going to be writing into my calendar. It’s not a perfect or hard fast system – things change, sessions come up, real life happens. But this post has been on my calendar for about three months now. Honestly, I didn’t think it would get here. I didn’t think I’d have anything to say because I didn’t think I’d finish. But, guess what world? Here we are. As of yesterday, I finished my FIRST HALF MARATHON!!!!!!! (And I lived enough to tell you about it!)

Brittany and I ran the half marathon yesterday at Hershey Park. I won’t bore with you with how I felt during the race because, if I’m being honest, I was a pretty boring racer. I just did my thing – plugged into my music  – and checked off my goal: just crossing the finish line before the time limit! (oh hey, I did that with 16 minutes to spare!). I talked to myself, I pushed myself and I finished.

The race was long. And hard. And tiring. And I’m so incredibly sore today and probably will be tomorrow – like, parts of my body I didn’t even know I used. But, you know something? It was SO BEYOND worth it. I’ve never worked so hard for something in my life. I’ve never felt stronger – I had no idea I was capable of running thirteen miles. I honestly didn’t think I would – even after I got there. But every time my foot hit the pavement, I told myself: you worked for this and no matter what happens, YOU ARE HERE. And world, that was an amazing thing. I pushed myself mentally and physically to make this happen. 

I’ve never considered myself a runner. I didn’t think I could do something this massive. I didn’t know what my body was made of. And now, I do. Now I feel like anything is possible. 

While I’m here, I just want to say a few special thank you’s: To Brittany – for being my coach, my friend, my sister through all of this. On the days I wanted to do nothing, you pushed me to be better than I was the day before. You have no idea how much you’ve inspired me throughout this and I am so very thankful for everything you did. To my dad – for encouraging me the entire way when I trained, for checking in on the car rides and listening to all the boring details of this process. To my mom – for being my cheerleader on every long run I had to go on, every meeting I had to push back to get my runs in, for being there for me yesterday so strongly virtually I swear I saw you around three different turns. To my husband, Ryan, for never failing to believe that I would finish this race. Knowing I made you proud is one of the greatest feelings I could have asked for. I love you. And finally: to myself – to my body, thank you for letting me push you when I thought I couldn’t move another muscle. Thank you brain, for never stopping, for making me move and think and believe. Thank you for being stronger, more resilient and more powerful than I ever thought I could be. I can’t believe this is over! 

XOXO,

Kristina 

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