"I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart." Psalm 9:1
In November I finished our local turkey trot. It wasn't without some anxiety. As I stood at the very back waiting for the horn to blow, all I saw ahead was a sea of dark orange shirts. The race shirt was dark orange with the YMCA logo on the front. Every so often I spotted a turkey beanie. This turkey trot was the second event as part of my half marathon training. Before the event, I improved on my 5k time so I thought I would be okay. Anxiety got the best of me and I compromised and finished the 3 miles.
I used December to train for a virtual 10 miler that I did the first weekend of 2026. After I did my last half marathon virtually, I told myself I would never do a long distance virtual again. Well, here I was, training to do the Bridgeland 10 miler virtually. I trained for it, even hitting some milestones along the way. This past Saturday, I got up early and started off. And to be truthful, the first 6-7 miles were okay. But after mile 8, I started questioning my sanity. The sky was that beautiful shade of blue with very few clouds, giving way to the sun. Weather turned off quite cool meaning it was optimal running weather. I texted some friends saying I didn't think I could finish. They sent their 'you got this' and 'don't give up.' There was one who sent this text to a group: "Ladies, Christina is doing a 10 mile virtual and stuck on 8. She's at fleet feet. Can you go encourage her please? Maybe walk with her." At this point I think I had 1.5 miles left. Little by little the miles whittled down until all I had left was 1/2 mile to go. Wow! I was going to finish this. The longest I've gone since having double hip replacements and in the last 3-4 years. Along the way, I hit a couple of milestones. I'll get my medal in the mail later this week. This picture was taken as I finished the 10 miles.
So.....the first week in 2026. I still have work to do, after all I am training for my biggest event yet - The Woodlands half marathon. If you didn't get a chance to read my last post, read it here. As I was signing up for some events I realized I am recreating my first year of running and doing events. I cannot wait. I proved to myself finishing the virtual 10 miler, I can do the half next month. Fingers crossed it'll be as beautiful a day as it was Saturday. Oh, one of the milestones I hit Saturday was I finished within the goal I set for myself - by Garmin anyway. Elapsed time was longer because I stopped too much. I have no doubt I can finish within the goal I set for the half.
I found this cool app that is like a cheerleader for races. It's called Rally. Check out a link to the half I'm doing here. People can choose a mile and leave a voice note that I'll hear along the course. So if you want to be with me as I do this half marathon next month, choose a mile and leave a note!
It's going to be a great year. Of course, I'll do it with glitter all the weigh!
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