Sacrifices made and a goal achieved.

Posted by: Katie

For the last three and a half months Chris has been training for a half marathon. His goal was the Georgia half Marathon on March 20th, 2011. We had several other friends running as well and I was so excited to see him take up the challenge. There were a lot of sacrifices made in him being gone one to two hours at a time most days of the week in training. It was not always easy to have him leave for a run while working and having Rosemary to care. It was a commitment that not only he made, but I made as well to him. Day in and out I supported him. I cheered him on and jumped with excitement at faster miles.

I personally have issues with my knees that won’t allow me to ever run in the wind and feel this rush. There is part of me that so wishes I could do this and another part of me that thrives in seeing him experience it.

So after a wedding the night before and only five hours of sleep for Chris he woke up at 4:45 am and prepared for the day. We took Rosemary with us to cheer her daddy on. The race morning went just perfectly. We arrived at 6 am to Centennial Park and tried to locate friends and let Chris begin to warm up and stretch. It was still dark out as the race began. I never saw him cross the start line even though I searched frantically. He was off.

Two hours and five minutes later, my husband crossed the finish line. I was so proud of him. I’m at a loss to truly explain my pride. Chris had not run since high school 12 years ago. He shaved his time from 11.50 a mile down to 9.20. I saw him seek this goal out and grab it. He was running for him, running for his health and running to make his wife and daughter proud. He did it all. Tears were in my eyes as I embraced him with a medal around his neck and a blanket around his shoulders. He was as much of a hero to me as I’ve ever seen. He did it.

I think this is one of those times that strengthens your marriage more than you ever expected. It could have been full of frustration and envy but instead it was full of encouragement and pride. I’m not one to be good with encouraging words and praise and this grew in me ten fold over the last couple of months. He’s shown me that I can go out and reach my goals too.