Persistence !

Well hello Monday !  Today I write this post with much pride and finally a sigh of relief that my persistence has finally paid off.  Yesterday morning I participated in the Run Melbourne half marathon.

It was a run that I had registered for in case I couldn't get to the start line for the Gold Coast.  I tried to forget the fact that these half marathons were only 2 weeks apart.  Secretly I knew I would be running them both.

Lining up at the start line yesterday morning paid off as did my continuos persistence with this goal that kept eluding me due to injury...I ran in 1 hr 59 minutes.  What a relief !

My husbands beautiful handiwork..my splits.. 

It was a perfect day for a run.  No wind, no rain, not too hot not too cold - perfect conditions.  My darling husband whom last year ran this race in 1 hr 35 mins  (wow) offered to pace me throughout the race to get me past the finish line on schedule.  He worked out my running splits, carried my water bottles, and gave me those very important words of encouragement when I thought I couldn't move my legs anymore...(specifically around 18km mark)..My ITB was excruciating, my foot tendon was in agony and I could feel the biggest blisters forming on my little toe.

I finished in my long coveted time.  The last few halfs I have done I have been plagued with one injury after the other.  This race last year I had my gallstone attack, then the ITB, then my lower back, posterior tibialis tendon etc etc.  I feel satisfied now that its done, so that now I can focus on rehabilitating my injuries.  So I can confidently say that I am not registering for any half marathons in the near future until these biomechanical issues are treated.  Then I can focus on running a 1.50 - 1.55 half marathon.

A friend of mine also started with us yesterday but we lost her around the 5km mark, only to run up next to her at around the 18km mark.  We managed to cross the finish line together - her goal was to finish in under 2 hrs aswell so a huge congrats to you too M !

Its a huge rush after you cross the finish line, gather your thoughts and revel in the joy that you have in fact just run a very long way and phew, its over.  A huge thank you to my loving husband who supported me along the way, even though I wouldn't answer him when he spoke to me (just nodding), and not saying please or thank you when needing water ( I couldn't waste precious energy on talking :)
Love you Mike !

We bumped into another friend at the finish line who had achieved a PB.  An impressive 1.55.  Well done Grant ! A huge achievement !  You have to love a happy, sweaty after run photo !

Fancy meeting you here:)

Walking back to the car, big smiles

Still smiling back at home

So after a long stretching and ice pack session, and very long hot shower we had a lovely Sunday family lunch, once again dissecting the run km by km and enjoying the rest of the day.

Today welcomes me with very sore legs, tight hips and gluteus but also with satisfaction of my accomplishment.  My lessons learnt....

 * Persistence pays off
 * Learn to effectively hydrate throughout a run
 * You are stronger than you think...
 * Probably not wise to run 2 half marathons in 2 weeks when carrying injury
 * Nothing will stop me from achieving a goal I set myself
 * In future use husband as personal pacer, water bottle holder, and #1 fan on every future run :)

I hope you are all coming along with your personal goals and working hard to try and achieve them.  Persistence is key.  Not giving up on what you want is so important.  Work out what it is that you want most and set the wheels in motion in trying to achieve it, no matter how small or big your goals are...little steps will surely lead to the big picture.  Enjoy the rest of your afternoon !