*: Completing my first MARATHON!!

"He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world." -D/C 63:47

Warning: This is a really long blog entry!

I've been putting off writing this blog entry about my marathon for several reasons. Part of me is still trying to catch up with all my things on my "to-do" lists since my time was so consumed with preparing for and actually doing the marathon. And my body is slowly healing from running 26.2 miles! So if you have some time in your hands, walk with me(no pun intended) as I explain my journey from just wanting to run a little more than a 10K to participating in a marathon.

When we moved to Texas on January 1, 2013, I was so sad that I had left my life and part of my heart in California. I left my friends, family and job again to re-locate to a new state by myself with my husband and 2 year-old daughter. My heart felt in a knot and when we arrived to San Angelo, the snow and lack of transportation made me stay at home for a whole month. Enoch's training schedule was crazy and I didn't see him much either. We had no furniture since we left Monterey in November 2012. The only thing I had to hold on to was my faith and my child.

I started thinking about my body and some of the goals I wanted to have to keep me from getting depressed about my situation. One of the goals I set was to be healthier and lose weight. I started researching healthy ways to cleanse your body of toxins the right way. I came across Dr.Oz's 3 day cleanse, which I tried. Once I felt more clear-minded and felt the benefits of this cleanse I realized I really wanted to CHANGE. I had tried exercising and dieting a little in the past but this time I was not going to think of how only others could lose weight and not me..

I remembered the feeling I felt when I ran the 10K and how surprised I was that I actually did it.

So when I moved to San Antonio by myself in February, our apartment building had a really nice gym and I started working out. I would only work out on the weekends at first because Enoch was still in San Angelo. I started really pushing myself again to running 3 miles. I met many ladies in the ward that liked to work out but always said how hard it was to run.

Then a really bizarre idea came to my mind. I thought to myself "why don't you do something you never thought you could do? “And that is when my marathon training started. I wanted to push myself to higher limits and do something that really scared me and I had only dreamed of doing! Weird, right? Well not for me. Life has always been challenging for me, as I have had to endure things no child should ever go through. I am someone who's been through every form of abuse and dysfunction possible, all before the age of 18.

Ironically, this whole time while training, my trials and sufferings were part of my inspiration. I wanted to prove to myself that if I could go through all that trauma, terror, evil and atrocity, I could do this. I could overcome all the negativity about myself that haunted me growing up. I wanted to show myself that I was more and could do more than I ever thought possible.

The marathon training was so hard for so many reasons. For one, I had to squeeze all the time from my already super packed day to prepare my body for such an event. I had to trust in God that he could give me the strength to overcome the days when I really felt like giving up. I would not train on days Melany was sick, or days she really needed her Mama. I hardly ever slept in because when Melany slept, I ran. I did not want the training to take me away from spending time with her.

And then there were my legs. They continued to fail on me even though I was not tired nor wanted to stop on those long distance run days. This really bummed me because it was something I had no control over and could not fix by myself. I went to various chiropractors until I finally found a good one. He is LDS and so understanding of my situation. However, he did say to me" maybe your legs are not meant for long-distances."

It took many pleas and prayers to God to keep my legs from completely failing me. Up until days from the marathon my legs were not completely healed. I knew I was taking a big risk running this marathon and having leg issues. But I prayed and prayed for days until 3 days before the marathon, I got the inspiration and courage to register.

We woke up at 3am on Saturday as we had prepared for our road trip the night before. We drove to Del Valle, Texas, a city near Austin, It was so cold, I wanted to stay in the car as much as possible. I said another prayer and begged God to be with me. The race started and I was doing pretty good timing until mile 18! My feet started acting up! I had muscle stiffness and soreness. I felt like I had pulled torn, strained or sprained some muscles because I felt inflammation in the tendons. This is when I thought, "Oh my goodness! I am not going to be able to finish the marathon." I cannot take the pain! I had shin splints and had ongoing spasms!! It felt like every possible bad thing that could happen to my legs and feet was happening. I thought, why now? I'm not that tired.. Why? Why??? I then started crying... I couldn't believe that I was so close and yet so far.

I took a deep breath and had to stop running. I had to go slower as I was limping and the course was full of hills!! It was a speed racing track! I felt like I was having a panic attack! And this is when I used some of the advice I give my own patients. Breathe in and out. Calm down! I said a prayer and talked to God. There was no one behind me for the majority of the course. And this is when I felt inspired to keep going, stop and stretch and just walk the rest of the marathon. So from mile 20 I mostly walked and occasionally jogged. I no longer cared about my time, or personal record. I wanted to just get through all the hills and the rest of the marathon.

And interestingly, this is when I felt the Savior so close to me. It gives me chills thinking about how strong I felt His presence at this critical moment in my life. I was feeling so much pain I almost called for medical help but I didn't. He was carrying me. He even miraculously helped me finish the last mile by running it! He was with me every single step of the way. He was there during the marathon when I felt lonely and in pain, and he was there when I experienced so much trauma as a child.

My Melany was also my inspiration. I want her to know we can overcome anything and do anything if we trust and have faith in the Almighty God. He loves and knows us, our weaknesses and strengths. He will make our weaknesses stronger if we turn to Him for help. There were those who doubted I could do this because I know I am not the thinnest nor appear very "athlete" like. But like always, I like to show people not to judge a book by its cover. I saw the faces of people when I would tell them I was training for a marathon. They stared at my body and did not see the most fit person. But in my life, I have never tried to be better than anyone but myself. We all have our God given talents/blessings. And mine are tenacity, resilience, endurance and a testimony of Jesus Christ.

My stats:
12:49:21.479(time finished the marathon)
How long it took me to complete it: 05:47:08.479 27

*I think because of the ridiculous amounts of hills, they gave us 6 hours to complete the marathon. Since I completed it before the time(a miracle), I got a medal. Yay!

My phone died at mile 20 and I was not able to take pictures after but my supportive husband and daughter were there in the 45 degree weather and 15 mile per hour winds to cheer me on. They took pictures at the beginning of my run.