Today I'm thankful for the lesson my dad instilled in me throughout my adolescent years, and that's determination and heart. I won't hide it, I was daddy's little girl (daddy's little tomboy) and anything he did, I wanted to do- except hunting, that never panned out so well. Anyway, I digress.
Throughout those years, my dad supported me in whatever endeavor I pursued. Always my coach, he sometimes did it with cool calm understanding and sometimes with tough love, but he pushed me so that I could realize no goal was unattainable. In July, father's day came around and I started thinking about what my dad had done for me and at the same time, made the decision to begin training for a marathon. At that time, I told my dad that I was running the race for him, utilizing the lessons he taught me. This became even more real when just a few months later, my dad had a heart attack. My healthy, active, father had a heart attack. I know, it baffled the doctors as much as it baffled me. And I panicked at the thought of losing him, losing his wisdom. But, it was then that I knew I HAD to finish the race, no matter what, for my dad. So I set and accomplished three goals for this marathon using what my dad taught me:
1) At no point was I to walk during the marathon, always running/jogging, but NEVER walking- CHECK
2)FINISH the marathon- CHECK
3) Finish in under 5 hours- finished in 4:46- CHECK AND CHECK
There were times that I had to just put my head down and pray, or give myself a motivational speech. I kept telling myself, one mile at a time, one mile at a time. And as painful as it was (the knees were KILLING and the cramps wouldn't stop), I did it. THANKS DAD!
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