most things in life i learned in...marathon training.

so today i had a long run. 12.56 miles to be exact...and when it is 90 degrees out by 6 am...one counts every single tenth of a mile!

last week we had to cut our 10 miler short to 9 because i was struggling so badly. it was an awful run. granted 4.5 were straight uphill...but still...it nearly brought me to tears. one bad run can haunt you...it amazes me how mentally...one awful run can negate all the other good runs.

so today i was very nervous. i hydrated for several days, took some b12 and iron supplements (both deplete with high mileage AND i am following vegan diet), and said some serious prayers.

at 4:30 my coffee pot started brewing dunkin' donuts hazelnut coffee...the smell alone makes me want to get out of bed...not to mention the silk dark chocolate almond milk that dances so smoothly with my insanely delicious coffee. my clothes were all laid out...i even had time to check my email. i couldn't bring myself to eat...iron pill or nerves...not sure...but not eating with a 12 miler on the horizon tends to make me nervous...so i grabbed a lara bar and a banana and headed out the door.

it is funny...the artillery required when training for a marathon...gone are the days of shoes, shorts, and shirt...today i had: hydration belt, extra hand-held water bottle, music, cliff shots, banana, water for afterward, towel for afterward, etc.

anyhow...i realized something today. last week's run...the bad one...i tried to do it all alone. i hung back from my running partners, listened to my music, prayed, suffered, hung back more trying to spare them my horrible negative energy, and suffered more. there are no words for that bad of a run. today...i stuck with my running partners. we prayed together. we carried eachother's burdens...each sharing some concerns, some blessings, some heartache, and some hope. when it got really tough...we prayed together again. today i learned that while God does call us to Him...and we can do it with Him alone...He blesses us with eachother...the body...and there is considerably less suffering when we just reach out and let others reach back...not hide our negative energy rather let those who love us...when we are easy and when we are difficult...help us along.

i see this everyday in the absolute blessings i have been given in my friends. but today...i really got it...it really sunk in.

and to top it all off...upon arriving home...my precious son...ran up and hugged me...wiped the sweat from my shirt off of his cheek...and asked me: how was your run, mom??

sigh...there are no words for that moment of thankfulness...according to the "definitions" he should be incapable of doing that...how blessed am i that he defines himself...not his diagnosis!

with tears in my eyes: awesome darling...awesome! and hey, j-bob, thanks for asking.