They said I’d never run again (I remembered as I crossed the marathon finish line)

Some of you know that I am an endurance athlete, but 2010 changed all that when I had two NDE’s.

Yesterday, I ran my first marathon since 2010…

my first marathon since that night when I was miraculously pulled out from an upside-down car barely alive,

my first marathon since I was told that I would never run again,

my first marathon since hearing all those you-really-shouldn’t-do-this speeches.

Yeah, that marathon! It was the Country Music Marathon in Nashville.

I ran the marathon thinking of all of you who have been told all the reasons why you can’t do something or be something. For all of you who have heard you’re not…

strong enough,

smart enough,

worthy enough,

young enough,

thin enough,

good enough…

It was you I was thinking about, especially starting around mile 20.

Here’s the truth: YOU are enough! You get to define who you are, and create the life you want to live. Who’s going to stop you? Nobody can but you. Whatever you’ve been told, you have the power to flip the script. I know it’s not easy, and was reminded of that yesterday during stretches of the race that were difficult. I had at least 5 good reasons why I shouldn’t have run yesterday’s marathon. I’m not at the elite level of fitness I was back in my ultramarathon days… blah, blah, blah, blah.

So!

Yesterday, I had a fight to pick with 26.2 miles. I did it. I crossed that finish line, and I could have run another ten miles it it had been necessary. 

It was a great experience running the Country Music Marathon! The race was also a benefit for St. Jude. No family with a child receiving care at St. Jude ever get a bill. It did my heart good, knowing that crossing the finish line was.