My Daily Happy #12

Commitment...

This May, I will be running my fifth half marathon. My 3rd with my best friend Emilee,

Pittsburgh Half Marathon, 5/3/09

my second with my best friend Erica,

Hershey Half Marathon, 10/21/11

but my first with my mother and boyfriend.

Pittsburgh Half Marathon, 5/2/10

Virginia Beach Half Marathon, 9/6/09

Their commitment to this is so incredibly inspiring and I'm so excited to share this experience with them.

Yesterday my boyfriend blew personal bests out of the water by keeping me going for 5 miles at a great pace without stopping once. This was the farthest he'd ever run in his life. Before that it was 4 miles which we ran on Thursday and before that, 3 miles which we ran on Tuesday.  Running is not PID's thing.  Half marathons are DEFINITELY not PID's thing.  But yet, he is the most committed person to this rigorous training schedule and I'm so thankful. Because every time I'm exhausted or feeling lazy and just want to say "let's skip today," he says no and we kick our run's butt.

Cupid's Chase 5K, 2/11/12

I am so proud of his dedication to something I basically had to beg him to do.

Then today my mother called me, filled with excitement, to let me know she just completed her 8 mile week of training at a 4.5 mph pace. My mother is amazing. I couldn't possibly be more proud that she has decided to do this with us.

I've mentioned before that I've fallen out of running. My first three halves were in 2008-2009 when I was in great shape. This was pre-knee problems and impending laziness. Late last year I made a commitment to make an attempt to get back to where I once was and hit the pavement again. I stumbled through a half marathon in October for which I barely trained. After that I made another commitment to actually RUN the 13.1 miles and train my butt off to get there. Then PID, Erica, Emilee and my mother made the commitment to do it by my side. I realized then that it's more than a commitment to cross a finish line. It's a commitment to the people I love.  I can't wait to see Emilee and Erica waiting for me (Because they will be. Because they're much, much faster.) I can't wait to cross it hand-in-hand with PID (unless he leaves me in the dust. Which he might.). I can't wait to be there for my mother as she crosses and hug her the way she waited for and hugged me after every other race I've ever run.

I love my friends. I love PID. I love my mother. Yes, I would love to whip myself back into shape and that's certainly a goal of mine, but what I'm most excited for is the way this crazy race is going to bring us all just a little bit closer together. Thanks to all of your for your commitment and helping to keep me committed.

Only 12 more weeks to go!