My Healthy Revolution: I Did It

The TNT Prairies team bright and early before the race!

What a journey. My body is tired, achy, and sore...and I am so incredibly proud of it. Sunday was the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon and I rocked it. I ran 21.1 km through the intense pain of an injured knee. I finished with a time that I never imagined was possible, especially with an injury. I ran for 2 hours and 26 minutes, barely taking any walk breaks since every time I walked, the pain in my knee tripled when I started running again. I fought back tears throughout the entire race, not only from the pain, but because I was in such shock that I was actually running along with 15,000 other people. I may be stubborn, but I've never seen something like this through to the end. So the fact that I actually did is amazing to me. I don't know how many times I felt the emotions start to overtake me, especially near the end.

Near the start of the race

It felt like it took forever for the race to start after the gun went. It took my section about 10 minutes to hit the start line! I felt the nerves starting, and my heart was pounding. I had some great teammates with me though who helped keep my mind off of that. It felt so weird to be running in the middle of a Vancouver street! Once I got into the groove of things, it was just putting one foot in front of the other. When my knee started to hurt around the 4 km mark, I just kept at it. I ran with several of my teammates for a few minutes and loved being able to do that. It was great sharing such an experience with them, even if it was only for a handful of minutes. My coach Julia was at the 16 km mark and ran with me for a few minutes. She asked me how I was feeling, and how my knee was doing. I was completely shocked to tell her that besides my knee, I felt great. I wasn't tired, out of breath, or having any other muscle issues. How is that possible when a short 6 months ago I could barely run for 3 minutes in a row? The body truly is an amazing thing. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be able to run a half marathon, never mind less than a year after giving birth. But I did it. With the fantastic coaching and support from Team in Training, I did it. When I saw the finish line, I started pushing myself harder, and when I was within a couple of hundred meters, I sprinted my heart out. I honestly don't have any idea where I got the energy to do that, but I did it. And when I crossed that finish line, got my medal, and then looked up and saw my momma, sister, nephew, and A, the emotions overwhelmed me yet again. Not long after finishing, I wanted to do it again. After my knee is healed, I plan to start training again for the Edmonton Half.

I DID IT!

But the best part of my entire weekend was not my success. It was not the fantastic scenery or the run, the amazing people I shared it with or the beautiful weather, the delicious food I ate without abandon or the view from my hotel room or anything else like that. The best part was seeing my good friend cross the finish line with a big smile on her face. She was worried that nobody would be waiting for her at the finish line; that we would all finish and then continue on with our day. She was also worried that she wouldn't finish in time and that she would get "swept" off the course. Silly girl. I did not drive her every week to training to not get to watch her finish. And finish she did. At a sprint, with her friends and husband cheering her on as loud as we could. I have never been more proud of someone in my life than I am of her. And honestly, I've never been more proud of my entire team. I got to see so many of our team finish, and seeing the look of accomplishment in their eyes was better than finishing it myself. This has been quite the journey for all of us, and I am so happy I got to share it with everyone. And as they say, "A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles." So glad I got to share this journey with so many friends. Thank you to Team in Training, thank you to my coaches, thank you to those who donated and sponsored me, thank you to my fantastic teammates, thank you to my friends, thank you to my encouraging and supportive husband. I couldn't have done it without all of you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.