She'll be coming around the mountain....

Yes, I chose a cheesy title but let me tell you I almost used the song title "It's the climb" and wouldn't that have been a bit worse!

I have hiked before but this week I did something completely new. I rock climbed and not in one of those fun walls with the colorful hand holds. I went up a mountain and my big brother David took me! It is so much fun and finally having leg strength and upper body strength helped me out with this one. Take that hours of gym going! It was amazing though. Remind me of the verse about having faith like a mountain. Psalms 125:1 "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which can never be shaken but endures forever". God has certainly been teaching me to be more faithful this last year!

Climbing taught me a bit more about humility as well. I like knowing how to do things, especially those that are surrounding athleticism so when I literally couldn't put my own harness on I decided to let go and just have fun the rest of the time and thankfully I got up every run. I even started doing yoga poses on the climb up and giving my brother call names like Charzard. Although my lovely brother cheated for me on one of them. I decided to call it a little extra encouragement! He even trusted me enough to let me be the one that help his rope while he climbed. God gave me an awesome gift this week, the gift to keep growing in both body and mind with my brother as a literal anchor. So blessed.

Is this really the end?

I did the half marathon, the thing I had set out, my goal, my end game, my finish line and now is this really the end?

No way! I now need to run a full, granted I was told my body can't do that but that didn't stop me the last trillion times a doctor said my body won't handle something like that. So new goal, run a full marathon by next summer.

Let's get back to the half. It was amazing! I had injured my ankle the week before (and am still injured a week after) which made the idea of running on it a bit daunting. I had tried the Monday and Tuesday before to go for a light run and both I had to stop at 2 mile... pathetic. Luckily I have a little sister who happens to be a little angel/my personal athletic trainer and she wrapped my ankle several days leading up and the morning of the run. I don't think I can ever thank Mollie (Smalls/my person) or Mom enough. They will be the first people to tell me to stop hurting myself while also being the first people to support me at the finish line. I have the best family in the world.

We went down to San Diego the day before the run to the Expo. A big party devoted to running... my kind of day :). I was in my favorite city, with my favorite people so we also went to my favorite place. OB, where you can meet the ocean and eat incredible food.

Because I refused to skip the run because of my ankle I was sure I would be stuck on crutches after the run so when I saw the ocean I decided I better jump in it for fear of not being able to the rest of the summer (yes, fully clothed). 

That is her reaction to my decisions... apparently nothing I do surprises her anymore!

I got to have their company all weekend. That night I was too excited to sleep so after being my obsessive self and setting out my outfit I stayed up and had almost no sleep.

The next day I ran the race, ankle hurting but beating my goal of 2:15 and ending with 2:09.50. I was Number 6,112 out of more than 40,000 and was able to sprint the final leg, all thanks to the commitment and prayers of my mom, Smalls, and my best friend Carolyn at the finish line. (I called them at mile 8 and begged for prayers because up to this point every single step was painful) As usual, the Lord pulled me through it and made me better for it. 

The tape lasted all 13.1 miles, thank you smalls!

Looking back at the beginning of this blog I just have to crumble before God. This has been the biggest accomplishment thus far and I know it had nothing to do with what I did. My family, my doctor, my physical therapist, my friends and most importantly the Lord deserve the credit. I can't believe what blessings I have received through all of them. It has been a week and I still smile like an idiot!

Don't worry I didn't get ahead of my self... I iced :)

Thank you, who ever you are that have been on this journey with me! Sorry but I am not done yet. I still have many more things to do that, as the Iowa doctor put it "will never be possible again"... That sentence will put a fire in my belly for years to come.

Special shout out to you again Mom and Mols. You two are wonderful women of God that I try to model and with out you I promise I couldn't have done this. I wish I could explain how incredible I think you both are. How sure I am that I would be a cripple mess with out you in my life. I love you.