So.....I did it!!!!

Today I ran my first half-marathon!  Training for these long runs is very time-consuming, so I had never even ran a full 13.1 miles up to this point.  I felt great until about mile 11.5, and then my body (mostly my knees) started to kind of ache.  But I kept going, and finished with a time of 2:24:38.  Not the fastest runner out there, but I finished!  I made it running the entire way, too.  Which was not my plan.  I figured I would have to walk/run/walk/run...but I just kept going.  I did stop for one "potty break" at mile 4.  Wow, what an accomplishment for me.

When I left the house this morning, I got all teary-eyed.  When I crossed the finish line, I cried. I just got so emotional because I fully dedicated this feat to my Nicholas.  I feel so passionate about raising awareness for CHD's.  I don't know exactly how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to do it.  I envision a fun-run with Congenital Heart Disease as the cause.  I just feel like people are so uneducated about CHD's and so many people will have a child born with a defect.  I surely didn't ever think this would be part of my life.  But it is, and I am trying to figure out how to make a difference, even if a small one.

To those of you reading this, I challenge you to do something physical....make your heart happy.  I realized today that you don't have to be first place; you don't have to win the race to succeed. Rather, you have to set a goal and work to achieve it.  Start small.  Walk one mile.  Then jog one mile. You can do anything if you put your mind to it and your heart in it.

My Nicholas may never be a runner.  I don't know what his future holds.  But from this point forward, I will value MY heart and make it happy from now on.