Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Moments- Part 2.

Moments

Several months ago, I wrote a post on "Moments" and described a few moments through my cancer/healing journey that have stuck out for me. Read it here. Well, this past weekend, I had another one of those moments when my husband and me completed our first half marathon together.


Working toward something

A few months ago, I really wanted to begin training for something, working toward a goal. I am a goal-setter, a list maker, a crosser-offer- that's just me:)....and as I surveyed the options, I wanted to try to run a half marathon again. The first one I ran a couple of years ago while on chemo, so I really wanted to run one while being completely healthy.

In regards to my husband, my love languages are words of affirmation and quality time. To me, I love quality time doing activities I enjoy- such as taking walks together, running together, going to the park---anything that requires one-on-one time-- I love. Especially since we really slowed our life down and have put more emphasis on rest and not running the "rat race." Well, let's just say those aren't Josh's love languages:) More often then not we do things together that he enjoys such as hunting, or golfing, or sporting events, which is great by me...all to say he has to really push himself out of his comfort zone often times to do things I enjoy. So, when he agreed a few months back to run this half-marathon with me, I was giddy, surprised, and trying to not get my hopes up too much, as I knew he might back out. I mean, that is a commitment!!!

He was questioning this commitment before the race. You can't see this shirt well, but it says, "This seemed like a good idea 3 months ago." Josh's sentiments exactly!



Well, he didn't back out!!! He stayed the course and finished the race! Yay for me! I trained for 10 weeks and he trained some, and we were going to do this together! We had such a wonderful time visiting with friends in Baton Rouge on Friday night and then hanging out together in New Orleans on Saturday and Sunday.

The build up

Saturday we walked around the city and took in as much as we could. Then, we went to the Pelicans' game that night and had a blast there too. There were over 25,000 people signed up for the marathon, so it seemed that everywhere we went, we ran into people running the race.

This was at the expo, or wait... I mean, during the race....


It became real as we got all of our gear!



We actually got these tickets at the Rock-N-Roll/ fitness expo that day. Perfect timing!


We were actually pretty close to the court. It was Pelicans vs. Bulls


The half

On Sunday morning, we were wondering what we got ourselves into! There were so many people there yelling for us, cheering us on, live bands, music, and the atmosphere was just so fun! We got separated during the race, but I was hoping that Josh was still running and hadn't hurt himself:) Through blisters, a lost toenail (yes, after they've just grown back), and shoulder cramps, I was about to finish! As I searched the crowd, I saw Josh chowing down on power bars, bananas, and gatorade, but what a moment it was when we saw each other!

Right after we found each other, power bar in mouth and all!


I know this sounds completely cheesy, but I really don't care! Our bodies were totally exhausted and we just hugged, kissed and congratulated one another. The sense of accomplishment and togetherness was incredible. To know he did something that was so hard, just for me---it meant the world to me. There are many moments in our marriage that pretty awesome moments, and that one ranks in one of the top moments.



He fights for me. He loves me. He stands by me. He protects me. He provides for me. He RUNS with me!:) To say I felt loved in that moment is an understatement. Josh even wrote a post on our church blog about what the experience was like for him: Read it HERE

I encourage you to set a goal for yourself and tell your spouse or someone you love to accomplish it along side of you. The bond it will create is one you will treasure!

Josh and I could barely walk for days after the race. But, we both just kept saying how the pain was worth it. I know--sounds cliche'---but it was a moment, frozen in time.

This was after the race...can we say "exhaustion?!"


Do something meaningful today with your spouse, child, or friend. You can CREATE moments!

Creating and enjoying moments fully,


Aly


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